The Hero Bard
by pikaree1
Summary: Orange the hero bard was on a quest to become a hero worthy of knighthood when his journey was derailed. He took an important heroic mission (rescuing a girl (who would rather die than allow him to rescue her)), but now finds himself mixed up in something a little bigger... Ninjas, evil minions, and adventures, oh my! (OC submission closed.) (Second generation medieval AU, wow.)
1. An Introduction

**Petal: Once upon a time, there were two slightly insane fanfiction authors.**

 **Copper: Only** _ **slightly**_ **.**

 **Petal: Yes, only slightly. They did not own Pokemon Special. Or Legend of Zelda. Or Fullmetal Alchemist. Or Fruit Slash.**

Once upon a time, there were six farmers. Well, there were a lot more than six farmers. But the farmers I'm talking about were peculiar farmers indeed. And their names were Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omega, and Grisseo. They were very good farmers. Alpha and Omega were always competing with each other. Currently, the record harvest was 1000 carrots by Omega, followed closely by Alpha's 999 carrots. Beta was an even better farmer. He farmed food for his Cubchoo named Cubby. His best harvest was 100 million carrots. Gamma threatened his crops into growing, and he had a harvest of 999,999 carrots. Delta was a very depressing person. He only grew Depressing Tea Leaves that grew on depressed-ness. Of course, since he was so depressing, he had a harvest of around 50 million every year. Grisseo was the last farmer. He stole everybody else's crops to sacrifice them to Darkrai in a shrine that he had built himself.

Of course, they'll show up later. This story is actually about a traveling hero/self-proclaimed bard named Orange.

Orange was the seventeen-year-old son of a knight and an herbalist. He had decided at a young age that he would travel the land with his rusty sword and trusty banjo, only returning when he proved himself a hero worthy of being a knight. As stated before, his sword was rusty. He probably should've gotten it de-rusted. However, he had a heart of GOLD. Well, no. He had the heart of Orange. Gold was the name of the (incapable) king of his homeland, Konton no Tochi. Everyone knew that the intelligent, wise, and hard-working queen was really running the kingdom. Many wondered why she had married the fool of a king in the first place. Some said that it was at the behest of the royal family's secret official ninja captain. But we are getting off track! Anyway, because of Orange's kind nature, he was always broke! Bandits at the sides of roads would pretend to be poor lost beggars! He would always donate his money to poor villages he passed through (which resulted in ballads being sung about him)! He would do chores for free for the sick and elderly! And besides that, his only source of income was his music, which sucked. We'll get to that in a bit after we finish waxing poetic about his fighting skills.

So! Orange was an extremely skilled fighter. The rays of the setting sun glinted off his shining blade as he beheaded his opponents-though he typically tried to let his enemies live unless they were going to mass murder innocent people (as the residents of Konton no Tochi were as chaotic and tough as their kingdom's name suggested, this was no easy task, and the housewives of the kingdom (particularly their leader, Izumi Curtis (Fullmetal Alchemist reference)) were vicious, so the smart villains stayed away), and he and the practical bandits of the kingdom tended to fight during the daylight hours so they could see the fight better, and his sword was rusty in the first place. His blade's keen edge could chop through diamond as easily as butter-or it would if it wasn't rusty. The weapon had been crafted by the finest swordsmith to ever live-about a hundred million years ago. No one quite understood how a swordsmith existed in those times. His sword moved so fast it seemed to teleport-right out of his hands. To put it simply, he was better than good-but in the end, he was an idiot with a bad sword.

And a faithful sidekick! Wherever he went, a Pichu by the name of Chu followed. The faithful electric mouse would always electrocute his enemies, fighting with a terrifying silver toothpick that Orange named 'the-World's-Best-Conductor-of-Electricity'. See, he _did_ pay attention in science class. Chu preferred to call it 'the Elexecutor'. Chu himself was a runty Pichu who loved his Elexecutor and spent every night polishing it until it shone.

Moving on to Orange's music career, he spent his whole life developing it, cultivating his musical talents. Well, no. You can't cultivate something that's nonexistent. Every time he reached a town, he would go to the tavern and sit himself down on the cleanest unoccupied seat he could find-sometimes the countertop. He was very well-known. If he sat in front of the barkeeper, the woman or man would say, "Orange, can you move over? I don't want any stray fruit to hit me." He knew many famous songs, but unfortunately, he always mixed them up. He loved to sing and had a soothing voice, but he was tone deaf, and his banjo skills were horrendous-he never quite repaired the strings after trying to play it with his sword (he later learned that banjoes were more like guitars than violins). And besides that, most everyone in Konton no Tochi abhorred the twangy instrument, almost as much as they despised accordians.

To sum things up, he was a kind-hearted, musically impaired, talented at fighting, broke idiot with a rusty sword and an 'accident-prone' banjo (many people in Konton no Tochi were rather clever. They all knew that Orange was famed as the Left-Handed Banjo-Player (Zelda reference), so they set traps specifically to target his left hand and banjo). Half his savings went to repairing his precious instrument, which he had named Jo, short for Joe, short for Joseph, short for Josephine, short for Josephinius. When he told people about this, they laughed at the 'Josephine' part. He would then whack them with the offended Jo. Jo was MANLY.

On the other side of the kingdom was a girl named Lyra. Two years Orange's junior, she was beautiful, with fiery crimson locks and keen silver eyes. Her skin was smooth and her complexion healthy unlike that of a princess of a neighboring kingdom, Snow White. She was graceful, lean, and unlike Orange, a good singer. Lyra, at this very moment, was donning a lovely, spring green tailored gown while her kind and gentle mother (the castle librarian) styled her hair into an elaborate 'do. Once done, Lyra forwent the use of cosmetics on her already beautiful face and strode regally to her balcony. Opening the door and stepping out into the chilly night air, the young woman looked down at the courtyard and saw the ninja corps' new recruits. A few of them noticed her and started waving. She drew in a deep breath and shouted:

"WHAT ARE YOU LAZYBONES DOING?! IF YOU HAVE TIME TO GREET ME, YOU HAVE TIME FOR YOUR SWORD DRILLS! NOW CHOP-CHOP, GET MOVING!"

This statement was punctuated by a large shuriken being thrown precisely into their midst but harming no one.

Oh, and we may have forgotten to tell you this, but she was about to become the assistant captain of the ninja corps. There were many vying for the position after the previous assistant captain had left to get married, but Lyra had been the only one able to dodge Captain Silver's Rain of a Thousand Shuriken on an Ice Field technique. How she managed to accomplish that is to this day still a mystery. Of course, Captain Silver just invented another one called Rain of a Million Shuriken on Water that even she could not avoid. After all, it wouldn't do for any of his subordinates to get uppity.

Particularly if that subordinate was his daughter.

Indeed, Lyra was the treasured only child of Captain Silver, but that just made him be all the harder on her. While other amateurs were learning that knives were sharp, Lyra was learning where all the vital points to stab were. While other accepted trainees who passed the exam were learning that the boomerang shuriken did not land perfectly and harmlessly back in their hands like a homing beacon, Lyra was training to hit a moving fly with a shuriken a hundred kilometers away, calculate the weapon's route so that it cleaned the gore off itself with water or leaves, maybe fell a few enemy ninja, and land in the cleaning cloth with which she would clean it and polish it back to perfection.

As you can see, Captain Silver was very strict. But he was proud of his daughter; she had grown into a powerful and beautiful young woman. A little tsundere, admittedly, but still a powerful and beautiful young woman.

The captain knocked on his daughter's door. "Lyra? Are you ready?"

The girl's mother, Soul, opened the door. The young redhead quickly snapped to attention. "Yes, sir."

Silver looked down at his daughter. She was tall for her age-perhaps that would keep the annoying suitors away-and he saw much of himself in her. The red hair, the silver eyes, the determined set of her jaw, the destructively potent death glare-all these things had been inherited from him. Even her partner Feral Sea had, in a way-it was the child of his own Feraligatr.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, these are the secrets of his shuriken techniques: First, in his Rain of a Thousand Shuriken on an Ice Field technique, he gives the ground a glare so cold that it forms a smooth sheet of ice. In his Rain of a Million Shuriken on Water technique, he freezes the ground up 5 feet before giving a somewhat heated glare to melt the ice, resulting in 5 feet of water.

Back to the point, Lyra was going to be appointed the secret ninja corps assistant captain in front of the whole court. However, the king gave them the undercover name of 'castle not-ninjas'. The queen was quite fed up with her idiot husband's stupid antics, but the court found it hilarious.

Silver smiled. "You look great, Lyra." His hand moved to ruffle her hair, but it was stopped by his wife.

"Ah-ah-ah," the brunette admonished. "Do you know how long it took to arrange that?"

Silver stared at the curls and braids on his daughter's head and said, "I can imagine."

Lyra sighed. " _Please_ mother, can't I just have it in pigtails like usual?"

If you're wondering where Orange is since we said this story is about him, don't worry. We'll get to that soon enough.

A while later, Lyra was standing before the royal couple in the throne room, lords and ladies gathered at the sides of the red carpet and the captain of the royal guard, Sir Red, standing next to King Gold while the captain of the ninja squad stood beside Queen Crystal.

"Lyra of New Bark Village," Crystal began, "you have shown great courage and battle prowess. Do you swear to serve me-"

"Us," Gold corrected her.

She ignored him. "Do you swear to serve me faithfully?"

"Yes."

"Do you swear to only use your power and position for the good of the kingdom?"

"Yes."

"Do you swear to follow and support the orders and decisions of your captain?"

"Yes."

"Then by the power vested in me, I name you assistant captain of the castle's official not-ninja squad."

Both females and the captains let out long-suffering sighs while the king just grinned.

"Now that that's done, let's par- _TAY_!" he cheered, much to the approval of the lords and ladies who immediately began stuffing their faces with the contents of the buffet tables lining the walls.

"Lyra! Congratulations~!" cheered the young ninja's aunt, Blue. The woman was a merchant who's main base of operations was the castle town, where her husband worked as the royal advisor.

"Hn. Nice job," the aforementioned man said, a glint of approval in his eyes.

"You totally deserve this!" cheered her one of her cousins, Turquoise. The other, Aquamarine, was off with a friend of his-conspiring to get Turquoise with the friend's older brother, no doubt. Lyra's expression darkened subconciously. She had met Orange before, and he was an okay guy. Naive and dense, sure, but dependable guy. He was someone she could definitely have been friends with.

His one mistake was having a crush on Turquoise.

Just as her father was to her aunt, Lyra was _very_ protective of her female cousin. Whenever she wasn't training, she was stalking through the streets, tracking down those who had flirted with Turquoise. In fact, it may have been part of the reason why her skills were as good as they were. But Orange was a problem. For one thing, he was the son of two people who were very important to the castle and thus the kingdom-as a ninja, she couldn't disrupt that. What was more, he was more skilled in fighting than she, and she had grown a grudging respect for him. The worst part was that if he spotted her-which he undoubtedly would-he would probably greet her with a "Long time no see!" and a song. She would do a lot to avoid hearing his off-key singing and the twang of Jo, accompanied by the triangle of Chu and the Elexecutor.

"Lyraaaaaaaaaa! Congratulatiooooooooons!" gushed Prince Ethan, Lyra's childhood one-sided friend who also happened to be madly in love with her.

Thinking quickly, she said, "Hey, is Topaz eating all the jellies over there?" She had no idea whether it was a lie or not, for her childhood frenemy did have quite the sweet tooth. She wouldn't put it past her.

"What?! NU! I'm going to stop her; any requests for when I come back?!" the young prince said, panickedly craning his head to the dessert table where his older twin sister allegedly was.

"...Strawberry," the girl said after some thought.

"Okay, BE RIGHT BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" The prince zoomed through the crowd to the table.

Lyra stepped away from the party and a kunai immediately pierced the wall next to her. At first she thought it was Silver, but her father was still glaring at Gold. She turned around and found herself cuffed and gagged. Curse that Orange! If she hadn't been distracted by the memory of his awful music, she would never have been caught. She whipped around to face her captor but was only able to see a fuzzy shape as she drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Orange tuned his banjo. Everybody in the tavern groaned.

"It's Orange, the Left-Handed Banjo-Player!" they clamored.

Unfortunately, Orange was so preoccupied tuning Jo that he didn't hear them. Chu was polishing the Elexecutor again.

"So here's a song for my friends back home-Turquoise, Aqua, Prince Ethan, Lyra, and my dear little sis, Akai!" the hero announced, causing the crowd to groan again. The songs for his home were always the worst.

"Oh, I love my home, I love it very much! But the road's more exciting, bandits and monsters and such!" he began singing, twanging Jo. Chu gave perfectly timed chimes of his triangle to block out the worst of the singing. "So I left my gal, I left my sis, I left my friends for traveling bliss! I love them all, many times over! But what could be cooler than traveling in a red Land Rover!" Orange had no idea what a Land Rover was, but hey, it rhymed. "Green, blue, gold, silver, red! These colors remind me of them, it must be said!"

Unfortunately, the crowd had had enough. They motioned for the barkeeper to duck behind the counter and began throwing rotten tomatoes at the self-proclaimed bard.

"NO, JOSEPHINIUS!" Orange screeched, protecting his precious banjo from harm with his own body. Chu quietly slipped behind the counter with the barkeeper. Orange drew his rusty sword and, still standing in front of Jo, began Fruit Slashing the tomatoes, hoping to get a high score in Fever Mode. But wait-someone threw dynamite!

"WHO DID THAT?!" the crowd roared, searching the room for any outsiders other than Orange. They all knew what a moronic idea it was to throw dynamite in a bar made of wood.

And unfortunately for all of them, Orange had such a high score that he was slashing everything he saw, including the dynamite.

 _KA-BOOM_.

 **Petal: Isn't that such a nice cliffie?**

 **Copper: Not really a cliffie... What** _ **I'm**_ **dying to know is who kidnapped Lyra!**

 **Petal: ...Except it was** _ **your**_ **idea for her to be kidnapped in the first place.**

 **Copper: Well, yeah, but we still have to think of who kidnapped her.**

 **Petal: *sigh* I though you had that thought out already...**

 **Lyra: Okay, stop talking before you give away any of the plot.**

 **Petal: Okaaaaaaaay... Anyway, we need OCs! They can be good or bad, the good ones as useful plot devices to help him along his quest, the bad ones as his opponents on his quest! Oh, and hey. This might solve the kidnapper problem.**

 **Orange: Please review!**

 **Lyra: Or he'll sing you a song.**

 **OC FORM:**

 **Name:**

 **Gender:**

 **Age:**

 **Hair: (color and style)**

 **Eyes: (nothing too fancy, please!)**

 **Clothing: (does not need to be filled out)**

 **Weapon: (does not need to be filled out)**

 **Side: (good or bad)**

 **Special skills: (nothing too Mary-Sue-ish, please!) (also does not need to be filled out)**

 **Quirks: (does not need to be filled out)**

 **Personality:**

 **Sample: (please write an example for us to go on so we can get your character as correct as possible)**

 **Pokemon partner:**

 **Favorite food: (just for kicks. Possibly a plot device if we are amused by it)**


	2. Climbing a Mountain

**Petal: We don't own Pokemon Special. PokechuThePikachu, thank you for Yoduh! He will be in the next chapter! And thank you, Falneou17, for reviewing! Although I think we're going to disappoint you a bit about Lapis...**

LAST CHAPTER, NINJA PRINCESS LYRA WAS KIDNAPPED, AND SOMEONE THREW DYNAMITE IN THE TAVERN.

Which might explain why everyone was coughing. The roof had been been blown off, and the bard, his Pichu, and his banjo were nowhere to be seen.

"A'RIGHT, WHO THREW DAT?!" demanded the tavern owner, a particularly angry housewife by the name of Sapphire. She hated it when people destroyed her tavern. It was her family's main source of income aside from her prissy husband's dress shop.

"It wasn't us! We know better!" called someone in the crowd. So they all gathered their frying pans and flamethrowers and went in search of the perpetrator. As they stormed out of the tavern, the townsfolk all hid in their houses.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAH!" Orange screamed as he went soaring through the clouds, barely able to keep hold of his sword and Jo. Chu was screaming along with him as they arced through the sky and fell on a road.

Or rather, he fell into a cart on the road.

Filled with onions.

That were raw.

And peeled.

Orange started sobbing. Wailing. Bawling like a little baby. It was rather embarrassing. Chu pretended not to know him and instead started nibbling on the onions.

Orange suddenly felt the pain of 144 square inches of tree pulp slamming into his face with the form of a pro. "THIEF! THIEF!" a shrill, screechy female voice bellowed. "ARLER, FLARE BLITZ!"

"What about the onions?" a much calmer and relaxed voice asked mildly.

The first voice quickly rescinded the order. "NO, WAIT! YOU MIGHT BURN THE ONIONS!"

A furry orange canine stopped inches-no, _centimeters_ -from Chu's face. The poor little mouse pokemon fell backwards, foaming at the mouth and trembling, blue lines of dread sliding down his face.

"Who are you, and why are you trying to seize our onions?" the first voice-now revealed to belong to a girl-asked accusatorily after slapping Orange with her paper fan again.

"I-I'm Orange, a hero-in-training and a bard. I wasn't trying to steal your onions," Orange whimpered, cowering in fear and covering his head.

"Then what are you doing here?!" the girl hissed, thrusting her face mere inches from his and glaring. Terrified red met enraged orange. Lemon spikes clashed with a blonde horn. Staring at this odd, odd girl, Orange was hit with a startling realization.

She was really, really short.

Rather stupidly, he said, "Where are your parents, little girl? It's dangerous for children to travel these roads!"

The girl popped a vein. "Make fun of my height, will you?! GRAHHHHHH!" Her paper fan whizzed towards his head, but a hand firmly grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"No violence, Lustrous," said a boy with short black hair and blue eyes. "Let's try to solve this peacefully."

"...Who are you?" Orange asked cautiously.

"I'm Adamant, the driver and cook," the boy explained.

"Driver...?"

All three were silent for a moment.

"GET BACK TO THE REINS BEFORE WE CRASH AND BURN AND DIE!" Lustrous screamed.

Adamant hurriedly got back to his driver seat, but he had been gone a second too long. Bandits ambushed the carriage and tied everyone up before they could get back up from the horses going wild.

* * *

"Sniff... What did I do to deserve this?" Orange wailed.

"Aw, shut up. Yer rich, so we robbed ya and yer friends," the bandit replied. Lustrous and Adamant had already been knocked out, although Lustrous had dealt quite a bit of damage. Her captors would be feeling her sharp teeth on their forearms for years to come.

"Well... can I sing one more song before I die with my beloved banjo Jo?"

Something told the bandits they shouldn't listen, but nobody ever praised bandits for being smart.

"Awright, kid, I feel for ya, but ya gotta stay in those leg shackles."

They fetched Jo.

Orange began to sing.

The bandits fell to the ground, their ears bleeding. Orange was very offended by this and hit them with Jo. Then he whistled for Chu.

Nothing happened.

He whistled again.

A tumbleweed blew by.

He whistled a third time.

A Kricketune apparently thought it was night time and started playing sad violin music.

Fed up with this, Orange yelled that he'd tell the death fairies to take Chu out of his will if he didn't show up right that second.

There was a large _CRACK_ as the little electric mouse broke the sound barrier to valiantly rush to his partner's aid. Orange glared, miffed. Chu grinned sheepishly and untied the three captured people. Once Lustrous and Adamant had been Thundershocked awake (and Lustrous was calmed down enough not to throttle Chu and Orange), the group got back into the cart and rode off before the bandits could wake up.

"I had a terrifying nightmare," Lustrous mentioned, munching on a piece of raw onion. "A horrible demon, Count Josephinir, was attacking my ears and stole my onions."

"Gee, that Count Josephinir character... His name sounds sort of like my banjo, Josephinius..." Orange mused.

Lustrous paled. "You can come along with us as long as you _don't_ play that banjo."

Orange was very sad that he could not play his precious Jo, but he agreed nevertheless. He was totally lost and had no sense of direction aside from his homing beacon on his sister, who, according to his big brother instincts, was with an unknown male at the moment. Oh, wait-Aquamarine just interrupted. ...Aaaaaaaaaaand he backed off. The spineless coward. Completely useless as a bodyguard.

"Want an onion?" Lustrous asked, snapping the hero bard out of his reverie.

He shook his head. "Uh, no... I'm good."

"Hey, guys, we have a problem," Adamant called back, halting the cart. "This mountain's in our way. We could take the long way around the base, or we could go over it."

Lustrous, the unofficial leader of their motley crew, frowned, thinking deeply. "Hmm... The long way around takes a month, but the road is rather safe as there are always travelers on it, sometimes even the royal guard themselves. The short way only takes three days, but the mountain is riddled with warring bandit clans, rattlesnakes that have rattles that sound like they're saying 'Kariya' (Inazuma Eleven GO reference), rocky terrain, it gets freezing cold around halfway up, and there's apparently an old hermit who hates intruders that lives up there." She pondered their predicament for a short while before standing. " _LET'S DO IT_."

And so they gathered the onions and their belongings, bade farewell to the cart and Ponyta, and started up the mountain.

As fate would have it, not too long after, they were in the crossfire of two warring bandit clans. From one side was a rain of five hundred flaming arrows. From the other, a rain of five hundred poisoned arrows. Lustrous and Adamant stuffed their ears with leaves as Orange and Jo sang what they thought would be their final song. Luckily, all the arrows splintered when they encountered the sound waves generated from the horrible-uh, horribl _y sad_ song. The bandits tsked and wondered what the heck was going on. Did the opposing clan have a sorceror among them?

Running ever faster to avoid getting stuck in a sticky (or pointy) situation, the group by some miracle made it to the top of the mountain.

"S-Soooooooooo c-c-c-c-c-c-cooooooold..." Lustrous complained, her teeth chattering.

"How about a group hug?" Orange suggested. As everyone was dressed in thin tunics, they all agreed that this was a good idea and tied their bundles of onions to their backs. Chu squeezed himself in between them. They shuffled along awkwardly, not quite sure how to walk in such a position, when Orange spotted something. "I see smoke!" he reported.

"Where there's smoke, there's fire," came Lustrous's muffled voice from Chu's fur. "Let's go."

They shuffled more quickly and found themselves at a modest brick cottage.

The door slowly creaked open...

* * *

Lyra was mad. No, angry. No, wrathful. No, enraged. No, furious. No, utterly berserk with rage and fury, burning with the wrath of a thousand suns.

She was wearing.

A wedding dress.

As you can probably imagine, this didn't sit well with her. At all. In fact, she was currently sharpening her kunai and shuriken that were, as opposed to the beliefs of some amateur ninja, sharp, crooning, "Just a little longer, my darlings. Just a little longer. Then we shall have our vengeance..." She giggled. Insane? Lyra? Psh, no way! She just has... _anger issues_. Yes, anger issues. And her anger issues were quite clear from the broken chairs on the floor and the dents in the wall. She had tried multiple escape attempts, but none of them worked. It was laughable, really; the newly inaugurated assistant captain of the kingdom's ninja force was incapable of breaking out of a prison with such a simple security system.

Magic laser alarms? It was like playing Limbo, an easy feat for a ninja.

Guard pokemon? One glare and they all turned tail, whimpering.

Booby traps? She was a master at finding and avoiding and/or disabling them.

Surveillance cameras? They didn't have that kind of technology. Null and void!

Sadly, Lyra had a terrible weakness. Not just terrible, horrible. Few knew of it, and the only reasons they were still alive were A) two of them was stronger than her, and B) they were all her friends and family anyway. Anyway, she... was afraid... of _slugs_.

Completely irrational, yes, but hey-it was a phobia. She hated them; hated their jiggly, slow, slimy bodies that left trails of mucus on the ground; hated the way they destroyed Healer Yellow's herb garden; hated the way she always thought they'd go down her throat if she was unwary; and she _despised_ the way they would always cling to her when she slogged through rainforests for training. As luck would have it, the area surrounding the castle and tower she was stuck in was infested with slugs. (Slug phobia dedicated to Lina Inverse of Hajime Kanzaka's  Slayers)

So since she couldn't escape, she decided to bide her time waiting for her captor who had put her in a wedding dress to arrive. That, and sharpen her pretty little weapons, of course.

Looking out the window (made of only the finest quality diamond- Drat!) Lyra noticed a hooded figure approach the tower.

* * *

Silver donned his black cloak as his wife prepared his weapon pouch, stuffing it efficiently with the most possible items and using the most possible space in the way only housewives can.

"With good luck, I'll be back by the end of the week," he said, kissing her and taking his pouch. Of course, life doesn't work that way. "Lapis!"

Another cloaked figure dropped from the ceiling. Pulling off the hood, the figure revealed itself to be a brown-haired boy about Lyra's age with an impressive hair antenna. "Yessir!"

"Go in search of allies," the man ordered, strapping his weapon pouch and a few handy swords to his belt. "I'd say your best bet is Sir Red's son, Orange. He's ranked number one in all the latest hero polls in the magazines. Oh, and make sure to take an extra sword or two with you-I've heard his is rather rusty. I will search for Lyra herself. Keep in contact with Soul, Queen Crystal, Sir Red, and me through your messenger Pidove. Understood?"

Lapis saluted his captain. He was going to help save his best friend without fail. "Understood!"

The high-ranking ninja were all hyped. Captain Silver was going to be away... Assistant Captain Lyra was at the moment missing... Lapis-Lazuli, another extremely capable young ninja, was also going to be away... Perhaps one of them would get to be the stand-in captain! Yes, they set their goals _so_ high!

"Feraligatr, prepare for a fight," Silver whispered to his partner as he ninja-ran through the forest at mach speeds.

* * *

Orange, Lustrous, and Adamant were still waiting for the door to finish creaking open.

 **Petal: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's the end of the chapter!**

 **Copper: I'm actually pretty excited. I did some of teh work in this chapter!**

 **Petal: ...'Teh'?**

 **Copper: Teh. Remember to remind them about OCs!**

 **Petal: Right, right. Please send in your OCs, people! We need them for plot devices! Some bad guys would be appreciated, because I don't know how to make proper antagonists! What about you, Copper?**

 **Copper: Hmmm... I think that antagonists would be really appreciated. Of course, reviews would be even more appreciated.**

 **Petal: So please review and submit your OCs! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Meeting a Villain

**Petal: We have the third chapter in less than a week! I feel so proud!**

 **Copper: YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAY!**

 **Petal: ...Well that was weird.**

 **Copper: Do you really think so?**

 **Petal: Yep.**

 **Orange: Hey, more people submitted OCs!**

 **Petal: I see... Okay, we have enough bad guys for now, so please submit some** _ **good**_ **guys! I will be adding some ground rules in the end-of-chapter note, so stay tuned. And OH MY ARCEUS POKECHU YOUR OC-MAKING SKILLS ARE AMAZING.**

 **Copper: Pokemon, Yoduh, Natalie, Kara, and Genevieve are not owned by pikaree1!**

Orange, Lustrous, and Adamant were _still_ waiting for the door to creak open. Gee, whoever lived in there must not work out his or her door-opening muscles a lot. Or maybe the door was just as rusty as Orange's sword.

"HURRY UP!" Lustrous snapped impatiently, flailing her fan wildly. Orange and Adamant had to duck to avoid being slapped sillier. If their silliness factors went up anymore, we probably wouldn't be able to put Silver, Lyra, and Lapis's super awesome ninja skills in the story!

"Wait a moment," came an ancient-sounding voice from beyond the door. "Builds suspense this does."

Lustrous didn't much care for suspense unless it was for a really good joke, so she impatiently grabbed the door and opened it the rest of the way. Half a second later, she leaped back. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAA! IT'S A SHRIVELED OLD MUMMY!" she shrieked, hiding behind Adamant.

"How do you do?" the boy said calmly. Orange sweatdropped and waved in greeting.

Standing in front of them was an old, old man. He had not a hair on his head. He did, however, have a mighty impressive beard and bushy white caterpillar eyebrows. His eyes were a piercing swamp, dispelling all of Orange's illusions that swamps were murky. "Your onions over there, come inside and put." Noting Orange's astonished face, he added, "Murky, swamps are. Hmmmm, yes."

Orange and Lustrous blinked, looked at each other, and blinked again. They didn't get this guy's speech. Fortunately, Adamant was fluent in the Yoda-speak! He walked inside as the elder directed and placed the onions down.

"Good," the old man said, nodding as he shepherded the boy back outside. "Get off my mountain you must! Kids I not like!"

And before Orange and Lustrous could figure out what he said and before Adamant could ask the old man why, the elderly man hit them all deftly with the staff his Alakazam had just brought him and efficiently knocked them all down the mountain.

Right back down the way they just came.

As they fell screaming, the wind carried the old man's voice to them: "Taste good, onion yogurt does."

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS OLD MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Lustrous screamed, ever the grudge-holding one.

"DON'T DO THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT! WE HAVE TO RESPECT OUR ELDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERS!" Orange hollered, ever the respectful one.

"Looks like we'll have to climb up there all over again," said Adamant, ever the calm one.

* * *

Lyra was just polishing her seventy-fourth shuriken when a girl walked in and surveyed the room suspiciously. Lyra did not notice and continued polishing the weapon. "Yesssss. Sssssoon, my darlingsssss..." the redhead cackled, hissing like a snake.

The second girl adjusted her golf hat over her blonde braid, feeling ignored. Darn it, she _knew_ she should've done a dramatic entrance with a stick of dynamite and some billowing smoke, or perhaps riding her Ponyta, Greg, through the wall (the inside wall, of course; awesome as Greg was, he couldn't jump as high as the tower), but Kara had said no. "We're already low on funds, Natalie," the bluenette had said. "What with paying for the damages for that bar brawl that broke out after you told that joke in town, _and_ for the property damage Genevieve did on her last mission..." She had cast a sharp look silver-haired girl who merely huffed, unrepentant. "Paying for another broken wall would exceed our budget by 53.7% more than affordable."

Natalie sighed again. Oh well; she could salvage this! She quietly called out her Joltik and shouted, "TIKI, THUNDERSHOCK!" A mere half-millisecond after she said this, she found the kunai Lyra was sharpening pinned to the wall right next to her head. Just as Tiki's thundershock was released did Natalie realize that the kunai was a conductor. And it was actually touching her.

"GYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed as she was electrocuted. Luckily for her pride, as Lyra had been sitting near a larg pile of metal, the ninja girl had been electrocuted as well and was now sporting a hilariously frizzy hairstyle.

That didn't make her glare any less scary, though. If looks could kill, Natalie was sure she would be dead. She adjusted her hat and, in an attempt to lighten the mood, said, "If looks could kill, you'd be a walking death ray!"

It had the opposite effect she had hoped for. Lyra's glare just became even more poisonous and heated, and the wall behind her started smoking and melting.. Tiki quickly skittered under Natalie's hat.

"WHO. ARE. YOU," Lyra hissed. Her confinement and the wedding dress had done nothing for her temper and had worn away at her sanity.

Natalie flinched; this girl was _scary_. She attempted one last wisecrack. "You and my co-worker Genevieve would either be best friends or kill each other!" The authors could not quite find the joke in that statement, but they typed it anyway.

Lyra fairly flew across the room-ninja speed is quite useful-and held another kunai at her head. "Tell me your name or the Joltik gets it," she hissed, inching the knife closer to the now trembling hat.

Well.

That settled that.

Not wanting anything to happen to her beloved partner, Natalie yelled, "MY NAME IS NATALIE SIMMONS!" Lyra reeled back from the loud noise so close to her ear-she mentally berated herself for not being prepared for such a simple tactic-and Natalie quickly scrambled up the dresser and leaped for chandelier, just barely managing to grab it. Tiki poked its head out of her hat and quickly spit at Lyra, efficiently trapping the girl to the floor.

Lyra glared up at her, having once more gotten her bearings. "And?" she hissed aggressively.

"My my, this is quite a sticky situation for you!" Natalie said cheekily.

Laser Glare V2!

Natalie adjusted her hat again and quickly spilled the rest of the beans. "I'm the one who kidnapped you! That knife was actually supposed to hit a bag I had pinned to the wall above you that contained Sleep Powder! Why did the kunai cross the air?! To get to the bag on the wall! Except it didn't! The boss ordered me to capture you! He's always wearing this creepy cloak! And this super creepy kabuki mask! And I think he wants to marry you! AND I LOVE FLAPJACKS!" Both girls were silent for a moment. Natalie adjusted her hat and whispered, "...Are you going to kill me...?"

Lyra scoffed. "Oh, please. What do you take me for? A murderer? No, I'd do something even worse: I'd make you the finance manager of King Gold's allowance. But in case you haven't noticed, I'm stuck with your Joltik's net, remember?"

Natalie let out a relieved laugh. "Oh yeah! I forgot! Silly me! But don't get your hair all tied up in a _net_ , it'll come undone eventually!" She paused. "...So I should probably leave now. See you later!" She jumped off the chandelier, hurried outside, dragged in a cart of food, and then hurried back out, slamming and locking the door behind her. Then she went downstairs to make some flapjacks to calm down Tiki.

* * *

Lapis walked into his mother's tavern. "Yo, ma!" he yelled.

Sapphire turned and saw her son. "Lapis! Took ya long 'nuff ta come visit!" she scolded, tweaking his ear. "Whassup?"

Lapis winced. Elite ninja he might be, but he would never be able to defeat his mother. "Sorry, ma. Trainin' 'n' all dat. But I'm here on bus'ness. Have ya seen Orange da Left-Handed Banjo-Player anywhere 'round here?"

Sapphire snorted. "Yeah, I have. Some idiot threw a stick o' dynamite here da other night while he was 'performin'," she made air quotes when she said 'performing', "-but den he got sent flyin' off some'ere."

Lapis grinned. This was a great lead! If Orange got sent flying, Lapis could calculate the trajectory from the smell of the explosion's burnt out fire. Having ninja skills was cool. Lapis rushed outside to begin sniffing for fire. Unfortunately, there was fire scent all over. Dangit, the tavern guys must've gotten their flamethrowers and tried to hunt down the culprit... _AGAIN_. Then, a scent hit his nose that nearly made him cry. It was the scent of raw...

Peeled...

 _ONIONS_.

Lapis hated onions. He hated them with a burning passion. He hated them with a burning hate, you could say, but nobody says that, because it's repetitive. And so rage consumed the brown-haired ninja. Completely forgetting about his mission to find Orange, he began his quest to eradicate the onions. Following the eye-watering scent, he began to track it down...

* * *

Silver stood over the vampire king, glaring ferociously. The supposedly super-powerful creature of the night quaked in abject terror. Few things could stand up to the might of Silver's death glare. That, and Silver was carrying a lot of stakes. "WHERE. IS. MY. _DAUGHTER_ ," the redhead growled. "Answer me now, or you're getting what your lackeys got." He gestured to the beaten up bats.

The vampire king screamed. "I DON'T KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! GO ASK THE WEREWOLF KIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!" The man would probably defeat his archenemy just by being there.

* * *

"Who was that guy, anyway?!" Lustrous demanded once they finally landed in a very convenient bush at the base of the mountain.

"That was Yoduh, the hermit of Mt. Weswius," Adamant explained. "He hates bratty kids climbing his mountain, loves yogurt, and is so old he is said to be related to the first swordsmith."

Lustrous slapped him with her fan. "You should've told us that was his cottage!" she screeched. "IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!"

Orange sweatdropped. "But he took all your onions... What now?"

"Simple," Lustrous said determinedly. "We go back up there and take them back."

"Yoduh is also extremely skilled with the staff, as we just saw," Adamant continued.

"...New plan, we do a comedy routine," Lustrous decided. "While we distract him with that, _YOU_ ," here she pointed at Orange, "-will sneak in from a window and take the onions back. How are your stealth skills?"

"Uhhhhh... I can sneak out of a bar with only a couple dozen rotten fruits and veggies on me?" he offered.

Adamant smiled while Lustrous facpalmed.

"We're doomed," she groaned. "So, so doomed."

A few more hours of traveling later (Lustrous went on a rampage halfway up and destroyed the bandit clans who were firing arrows last chapter, and she graciously allowed Orange to play his banjo for their funeral songs), they reached Yoduh's cottage again. Orange snuck around back, and Lustrous and Adamant knocked on the door. Yoduh stared creaking it open again.

Before he could get it all the way open and push them off the mountain again, Lustrous and Adamant began their comedy routine.

"Speaking of vegetables..."

"Speaking of vegetables..."

"Onions sure are popular, huh?"

"Yup! They help flavor a dish!"

"If only you didn't have to cry to chop them!"

"You could say that they're heartbreakers!"

"But they're good for your heart!"

"Exactly! So they're heartbreaker-fixers!"

"MORON!" Lustrous whacked her partner. "THOSE ARE OXYMORONS!"

"..." went Yoduh as he stared at the bratty young ones.

In the meantime, Orange was carefully and stealthily climbing through the window just like a real secret angent-a real one, not like those fake guys you see on TV!-and fell into the onions with a loud _CRASH-BOP-BOP_. You see, the _CRASH_ was his landing, and the _BOP BOP_ was from the onions that had been propelled upwards from his fall landing on his head. Isn't he such a good secret agent?!

* * *

Yoduh whipped his head around and saw the would-be stealer-backer. "You steal back my onions want to, do you!"

Orange panicked and did the only thing that could _possibly_ help his situation.

He played his banjo.

Lustrous and Adamant dove into a snowdrift, the fluffy white powder covering their ears (they hoped they wouldn't get frostbite, but hey, better than the alternative).

Two seconds later, Yoduh fell over, out cold from the bad music. His Alakazam was busy collecting firewood in the forest. Orange stared confusedly, but Lustrous quickly grabbed some rope and tied up the old man so he couldn't chase them when they fled with their onions or hit him with his staff.

However, Yoduh did not stay unconcious for long. He woke up and said, "Really think this rope will hold me do you?"

"Do you really think this rope will hold me?" Adamant translated.

Lustrous blinked. "Well... Yes."

Yoduh broke free in half the time it took for him to pass out. Orange gulped; this wasn't good! However, the old man surprised them all by saying, "Good instincts you have. I am Yoduh, of heroes trainer. If one of, survive my training regimen, you, allow all to pass free of charge I will."

"You have good instincts. I am Yoduh, trainer of heroes. If one of you can survive my training regimen, I will allow all of you to pass free of charge," Adamant translated.

Orange offered himself as the sacrificial lamb. "I'll survive it!" he declared determinedly. "After all, I'm training to be a hero!" Pichu nodded vigorously.

"Good," Yoduh said. Then he grabbed Jo, the Elexecutor, and Orange's rusty sword. "Training you in martial arts, I am. Weapons allowed not."

What kind of training is this old man gonna put him through?! And does he really classify Jo as a weapon?! These questions ran through Orange's as he wondered what he had just signed up for. Unfortunately, he'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out.

 **Petal: And that's the end of the chapter! Pokechu, if you don't want Yoduh to have a beard or eyebrows, tell us so in your review or a PM and we will erase it. Copper, do you have any comments for the end the chapter?**

 **Copper: Hi. The next chapter will probably be uploaded by February.**

 **Petal: And there you have it! And now for some OC ground rules. You can submit up to three OCs, but from now on, at least one has to be male and at least one has to be female if you submit more than one! Also, if you submit a character with magic powers, they have to solely be a mage, not a mage warrior, to avoid them being over-empowered! If you can think of any roles you would like the original PokeSpe cast to play (only the ones that haven't been mentioned yet, though!), have a field day with it and say so in your review! Please review!**


	4. Meeting More Villains

**Petal: And here we are with chapter 4!**

 **Copper: The big boss bad guy is introduced in this chapter!**

 **Petal: We're putting up a poll concerning him, so please go and vote! We, pikaree1, do not own Pokemon, Yoduh, Pinkari, Natalie, Tiki, Mithril, Genevieve, Kara, 700 (also known to some (one) as Sparky Sparky Boom Man), and Leon. Mucho gracias to everyone who reviewed, and I hope we wrote your characters to your satisfaction!**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A scream ripped through the air. It was shrill. High-pitched. Girlish, even.

And it was coming from Orange. The reason? Well... He had just finished Yoduh's first trial-an extra-sticky band-aid being ripped off his skin.

"Shut up, you big baby," Lustrous said irritably. "It can't be that bad."

"Yes, it can," Orange whimpered. "Chu, you should be glad you're not going through this. You have _fur_."

Chu shuddered and screamed as Alakazam plucked out another hair, very precisely, plucked in a way to cause maximum pain.

Orange sweatdropped. "Never mind..."

"Humph! Big baby you are! Want to quit, do you?" Yoduh demanded, bopping the swordsman on the head with his staff.

Alakazam flipped a switch, and the Elexecutor, the rusty sword (Orange had at last decided to name it. The name candidates had been Fulminata, Deathbringer, Windscorcher, Steelsinger, Planetcrusher, Voidwaker, Starshaker, and Rusty. After many months of deliberation, he decided on the best name: Rusty), and Jo slid the slightest bit closer to the pit of doom, filled with Snorlax stomach acids.

"NO! We don't! We don't!" Orange sobbed, desperate to save his trusty comrades from their terrible fate. To prove his sincerity, he went on to the next training exercise: balancing on one arm while mixing yogurt with a spoon. Lustrous rolled her eyes. It was just a dumb sword and a banjo; he could always get new ones...

This time it was she who received a bop on the head.

"Ordinary sword, that is not!" Yoduh reprimanded. "Work of great swordmaster it is!"

Orange blinked and fell over, getting yogurt all over his face in the meantime. "It is?"

Yoduh nodded wisely. "It is."

Adamant walked in from the kitchen bearing a large pot of onion yogurt. "Firestar, the lost magnum opus of Swordsmith Ken Nobegane," he recited. "The sword was originally made for a warmongering scullery maid of Konton no Tochi. With it, she had great plans to destroy all onions in existence. Unfortunately, the poor swordsmith tripped and fell as he was delivering it. He got a concussion and passed out. When he woke up, it was gone. The scullery maid beat him up and got back twice the money she had paid him. Legend has it that the sword was imbued with the powers of flame and, even if thrust into the hottest of flames, would never melt. Of course, it would never stand a chance against Snorlax stomach acids."

As Adamant said all this, Orange and Lustrous's jaws dropped lower and lower until they finally hit the floor. Yoduh pushed them shut with his staff. "Catch flies, you will," he said wisely.

Orange redoubled his efforts to save Rusty while Lustrous went and shook Adamant by the collar. "How do you know all this?!" she shrieked. "This kind of stuff is important, you know! And that sword is so rusty!"

"I read a lot of encyclopedias at home," Adamant explained, unperturbed. Indeed, the mansion passed down the Berlitz family for generations also had an extensive library filled with literature on all kinds of topics, each generation inputting their favorite topics from warfare to using plates as frisbees. The most recent addition was Lady Berlitz-Adamant's mother-'s fascination with penguins.

"THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN HOW A RUSTY OLD SWORD LIKE THAT IS THE LEGENDARY SWORD SUNG OF IN LEGENDS!" she screamed. "How'd Orange get that sword, anyway?!"

"Bought it off some guy on the street when I started my journey," the seventeen-year-old called.

Yoduh stroked his beard in contemplation. "Finish this training, you must. Make yourself strong. Perhaps visit Pinkari, you should..."

"Pinkari?" Orange asked, his voice wavering with effort. "Who's that?"

"Apprentice of Ken, he was. Know best about Firestar, he would. Hmm, perhaps, perhaps..." the old man mused. "Now! Time for dinner, it is! Stirred the yogurt well, have you?"

Orange paled. He had not stirred the yogurt well, as a matter of fact. He had faceplanted in it.

"Yes, yes, eat up, you must. Gives you energy, yogurt does!" Yoduh said. He motioned for Orange and the others to join him.

Lustrous looked disdainfully at the yogurt Orange had been stirring. She had seen him faceplant in it. And she didn't like yogurt to begin with. "No, thanks," she declined. "I'm going to make my own meal out of onions." She stood up primly and went to the kitchen.

Adamant sighed. "Sorry, I need to go and-"

"Sit," Yoduh interrupted. "Your energy, replenish."

Adamant sat, but he cast a worried look at the kitchen.

Five seconds later, dark smoke and the smell of burnt onions billowed out of the room. Lustrous ran out coughing, her face covered in soot. "No wonder you like yogurt! Your stove is defective, old man!" she screeched.

"Own faults, you cannot accept?" Yoduh asked mildly. "Truly strong, you never will be."

Lustrous glared at him and decided to go without dinner. She turned out all the lights, plunging the group into total darkness, and then set her sleeping bag down and crawled inside of it.

Orange and Adamant shrugged and lay down. However, Orange was quickly woken up by Yoduh. "Navigate my house, you must. Touch my furniture, you shall not!" he ordered.

Orange gulped and prayed that he could pull it off. His first few steps, he accidentally pressed a button. His and Chu's weapons were raised back out of the pit of doom and delivered at his feet. He blinked. Cogs turned in his brain. He had an idea. It was a brilliant idea. It was the idea of the century. Lustrous and Adamant must have been lending him brainwaves while they slept; his honest and hardworking personality would never have allowed him to think of it on his own.

They would escape under the cover of darkness! He quickly walked around, carefully feeling around for his next step with his shoe. After all, his mentor had never said that his clothing couldn't touch the furniture. He accidentally stepped on Chu's tail and thought he was busted.

Luckily, the angry electric mouse released an enormous Thundershock, lighting up the room and showing Orange where Lustrous and Adamant were. Equally luckily, Lustrous had all of their travel supplies attached to Arler on a makeshift saddle and was as a matter of fact dozing with the fire-type curled around her.

"Touch Pichu, you shall not," Yoduh interrupted before going back to sleep.

Orange whispered an apology to his partner (the little pokemon was very obstinate and stubborn, seeing as how it had resolved to become stronger than a Raichu without evolving. It took much begging and bribing to achieve forgiveness), and then continued to inch through the house to where Adamant was, Chu on his shoulder. When he finally got there, he shook the boy awake. Using a complex series of pokes, he explained the situation. Adamant poked back that he understood, and together they inched to Lustrous. She let out a loud snore and rolled over, scratching her stomach and mumbling something about stupid failing stoves. The boys carefully lifted her onto Arler's back, communicated the plan with more Hoarse Code taps, and then all three of them ran like an angry housewife was after them. An _amateur_ housewife, mind you. The proper reaction to _experienced_ angry housewives was to sit, cower in fear, beg for one's life, and hope the punishment was light.

"Let them go this time, I will," Yoduh said with one swampy eye open. It was the best course of action, after all...

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lustrous screamed suddenly, sitting up and hitting the head of Adamant, who was sitting behind her.

Orange sweatdropped. "You're awake, I see..." he sighed.

"What's going on?!" she demanded as Adamant held an ice pack to his head. "Where are we?!"

"We escaped Yoduh," Orange explained. "And we remembered to go down the opposite side of the mountain than we came!"

"At least you did _something_ right," the girl grumbled. "But now what are we going to do?! All our onions are still in his kitchen! We haven't a goal anymore; there's no need to traverse the mountain!"

Orange drooped. "Oh, right..."

"We can visit Swordsmith Pinkari," Adamant suggested. "He lives on this side of the mountain."

Orange grinned. "Yeah, let's do that!" he exclaimed. "That's a great idea!"

So the three travelers headed in the direction of Pinkari's shack. At least, a direction they _hoped_ led to Pinkari's shack.

* * *

Natalie sighed and ate another flapjack, Tiki nibbling on one as well. "I just don't get it," she said glumly, adjusting her hat and petting the Joltik. "I was nice to her. I was being fun with the entrance. So why the heck did she throw that knife at me? I don't get it. It's not fair." She sighed again.

And then all of a sudden, the door slammed open. "NAT! HI!" yelled a fifteen-year-old girl, her straight, knee-length white hair flying behind her as she leaped in and rolled like ninja before standing up. "BOOM! THE WALL EXPLODED! THAT WAS FUN! ALSO, PENGUINS!"

Natalie sighed. "Hey, Mithril," she said, smiling wanly. "Haven't seen you since winter." As it was the start of spring, it was clearly a variation of the "Haven't seen you since last year" New Year joke.

Mithril frowned concernedly, her eggplant-colored eyes searching her friend's dark brown ones. "What's wrong? You seem down. Also, seals."

Natalie glared at the door behind her-not the one Mithril nearly destroyed with the force of her slam. "It's the prisoner, Lyra. She threw a knife at me! I didn't even do anything wrong! All I did was crack a few jokes!"

Mithril patted her older friend's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't you worry about a thing! I'll whip up some more flapjacks to cheer you up! Also, tulips!"

Natalie's smile immediately grew. "Thanks, Mith. Your cooking's awesome."

Mithril winked at her conspiratorially. "No problem, as long as you promise to help me when I make my evil empire and conquer the world!" She giggled crazily and turned to the refrigerator, gathering ingredients.

"I thought I heard the chattering of useless insects," came a sarcastic voice.

Natalie turned to the door once more and saw a woman her age with long, straight silver hair and jaded, midnight blue eyes. " _Genevieve_ ," she hissed dramatically, itching to plant her fist in the other woman's face. Unfortunately, she was grounded. The boss had said no more punching people for the rest of the month.

"MY LONG LOST OLDER SISTER!" Mithril gasped, referring to the physical similarity between herself and Genevieve (as well as her well-known protectiveness of children and Genevieve's little-known soft spot for them).

"Actually, that's impossible," Kara said calmly, walking into the room. "I have data on every member of the organization, and your DNA doesn't match at all."

"Kara!" Mithril exclaimed brightly. You see, ever since she was a little girl, Mithril knew what she wanted to do with her life. She would use her evil genius to create an evil empire filled with evil people all working evilly under the evil her. And as everyone knows, an evil empire needs an evil mad scientist. And while Kara wasn't a nutter like her co-workers, she was a scientist, and she was evil. As a result, Mithril always attempted to recruit her. "Would you like some flapjacks?!"

Kara shook her head, icy blue curls flying around (she made a mental note to learn how to tie up a bun-her long hair got in the way of her work efficiency, and there was no way she was going to cut it short). "No, thank you. It is unlikely to provide me much nutritional value, and I already ate." She glanced at the black-haired boy behind her. "What about you, 700?"

"No," the boy said in a monotonous tone, his green eyes blank and unemotional. "I merely require nutrition pills. Also... Everyone, I ask you to stop staring at me."

"Wimp," Genevieve muttered under her breath.

"Come on, Sparkers!" Mithril hollered. She had met him while he was on a mission under the alias of Sparky Sparky Boom Man, and he had been Sparkers to her ever since. "You'll never make friends if you don't like them looking at you!"

700 lifted up the collar of his impressive brown trench coat and shifted behind Kara, who he was most comfortable around-they were unemotional buddies. Being a science-based person, Kara disliked silly things like feelings, and 700 was pretty much unemotional, period. Thus, they got along well. If you can call that being friends... Though they did indulge in a game of chess now and then. Due to their impressive intellect, 700 and Kara's chess matches were legendary within the group, and even the cold and uncaring Genevieve and Leon went to watch.

And speaking of Leon, the man himself walked in with a bag in his hand, scooting past Kara and 700. "Hey," he said quietly.

"LEON!" Natalie and Mithril exclaimed, rushing to their comrade. "Did you bring back a souvenir?! Did you, did you, did you?!" Their eyes were fastened not on the dirty-blonde-haired man's face, but on the package in his hand.

Leon sighed and handed over the bag. "Grapes from Olivine City," he explained.

"Cool!" Mithril exclaimed happily. "I can cook these into the flapjacks!"

"The flapjacks... OH MY ARCEUS MITH THE FLAPJACKS!" Natalie screaming, bolting to the stove and flipping them. Unfortunately, she was too late-they were already burned.

"Ack!" Mithril panicked. "Uh... Leon, just sit tight and wait while I cook the next batch! I know how much you like grapes!" Natalie as the right-hand woman, Kara as the mad scientist-Mithril knew she would also need a strongarm to start her evil empire. As Leon was a skilled swordfighter and tolerated her, and Genevieve pretty much hated her, Mithril abandoned all attempts to convince the silver-haired party pooper and was trying her best to butter up the dark-green-eyed blonde before popping the question. Then she'd be able to threaten Kara with him if the oldest of their group didn't want to join her.

Leon closed his eyes and said four words: "The boss is coming."

Everyone froze in their activities, then moved into action again. Mithril started praying to some sports god, Natalie adjusted her hat over and over again, Tiki climbed in and hid, Genevieve started pacing, Kara quickly made sure the files in her spacious lab coat pockets were in order, and 700 decided to sit down.

A dark, shrouded figure in a dark, shrouding cloak strode into the room.

"Greetings, my minions!" he announced grandly. "I can tell you are all delighted to see me by the pale, terrified looks on your faces!"

They all bowed, even the crazy Mithril. "Sir."

Suddenly heat radiated off of him. "Why are you not doing the awesome secret handshake I made up?!" he demanded.

"Sir, we-" Kara started, her voice only trembling slightly.

The boss cut them off. "Never mind, it looked ugly anyway."

They all did their best and managed to refrain from sweatdropping. Well, except for 700. 700 never sweatdropped.

"NOW! Stand to attention and slap the minion to your right!" Boss commanded.

"Sir!" They all slapped the minion to their right, except for Mithril, who was at the right end of the line. Mithril slapped the burnt flapjacks.

"Now they're SLAPjacks!" she exclaimed, unable to help herself at the perfect oppurtunity for a joke. Natalie gave her a thumbs up behind her back.

The boss glowered at her. "No unauthorized jokes! 50 wall-head-bashes! NOW!"

Just as Mithril was about to bash her head into the wall, the boss stopped her.

"Just kidding! That was a good joke, kid. Have a cookie." He gestured to one of the slapjacks, which he apparently thought were cookies.

Mithril wanted to tell him that they weren't cookies, but then, she wanted to tell him a great many things. Like how her paycheck was minimum wage, and he left his dirty laundry (cloaks) everywhere, and his plan was a stupid one. After all, she would someday overthrow him and take over The Organization! ...Just not now. She was still, er, _gathering strength_. So she ate a slapjack.

"Now, my little minions, gather around," he ordered. "Group huddle!"

They stood in awkward circle and listened.

"Alright, so here's the next stage in the plan..."

Up in the tower, Lyra was wondering what happened to her screen time. After all, she was supposed to be really popular, right? The authoress's favorite and all. So why did she sit in the tower doing nothing important to the plot the whole chapter? Maybe the author hated her. She'd better sacrifice another voodoo doll in the visage of Orange to the gods... Or perhaps go on a rampage destroying a bunch of creepy Victorian dolls...

* * *

Lapis paid a visit to a shrine. Five stone statues stood within: Arceus, the creator. Giratina, the warden. Dialga, the time-keeper. Palkia, the space-controller. And Mew, the bringer of life. Also known as... Arceus, the one with a '90s television memory (though there was no such thing as television in this world). Giratina, the not-eater of Shaymin. Dialga, the cheater who used Roar of Time twice in a row with no cooldown period. Palkia, the pink dragon dude. And Mew, the cute pink thing that does cool stuff.

Lapis brought the charred remains of all the onions he had bought in town as an offering. He loaded it into the offerings catapult and shot it towards Arceus's mouth. "Please help me find 'em..." the brunette muttered.

However, Palkia apparently liked onions, because a pink vortex opened up before the burnt root veggies reached the statue's mouth. Two people tumbled out, both younger and shorter than him. The slightly taller of the two, a girl, stood up. "Before anything else happens, I just wanna say: this is all my fault!" she announced, adjusting her glasses.

The boy stood up. "Before anything else happens, I just wanna say: this is all her fault!" he announced, pointing at the girl to his side.

She glared daggers at him. "I already said that," she hissed. Then she turned back to Lapis, who was gaping. "Sorry to startle you. We came here to help you with your quests. The onions are in the care of an old man who hates bratty kids climbing up his mountain, and they are going to be turned into yogurt."

Lapis stared at her oddly. "Um... Are you sane, kid?"

She glared at him. "I'm only a year or two younger than you, thank you very much, so DON'T comment on my height." She nudged the shorter boy forward. "Come on, your turn."

"So, you'll find Orange near a smokstack, in a pink shack, with a pink whack!"

The girl smiled. "There, was that so hard?" She waved goodbye to Lapis, and the two shorties vanished with a _POOF!_ , leaving behind a thoroughly confuzzled ninja.

* * *

Silver walked into the werewolf camp. Unfortunately, all the werewolves had passed out the second the silver-eyed man walked into camp with his laser glare. He stalked up to the werewolf king and glared viciously.

"Reveal Lyra's location, or you will DIE. And I will make you SUFFER before you die," Silver snarled.

"I KNOW A LOT OF LYRAS! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" the werewolf king shrieked. "MY SISTER-IN-LAW LYRA IS OVER THERE!" He pointed at one of the passed out wolves. "THERE ARE TWO PEASANT GIRLS NAMED LYRA IN THE NEARBY VILLAGE, ONE WITH FRECKLES AND THE OTHER WITH A LYRE!"

"I am looking for a girl who looks much like me," Silver said coldly. "She was kidnapped a few nights ago."

"I DON'T KNOW ANY LYRAS WITH SILVER EYES! GO ASK THE MERMAID QUEEN!" the werewolf king wailed, practically sobbing by now.

Silver sighed. He heard from the previous captain that the mermaid queen was a seasoned bargainer who always demanded expensive jewelry in return for information. This was going to be a pain... Ah, well. It was time to call on his elder sister for help and fight a bargainer with a bargainer...

 **Petal: We finished in a day, and it's our longest chapter! Whoo!**

 **Copper: Hey, look what I found in the mail! A voodoo doll in the visage of Orange!**

 **Petal: O.O Uh, that's nice... Please review!**


	5. A Darkrai Fanatic Joined Your Party!

**Petal: Here's chapter five!**

 **Copper: I think we're getting worse at these opening and ending notes...**

 **Petal: Don't say it, Copper. Don't say another word more. T^T**

 **Copper: Amazing, Petal-nee!**

 **Petal: Sad how we're now using references that almost no one will get... Anyway, we don't own Pokemon, Kaz, Nicholas, Kara, Genevieve, Leon, Natalie, Mithril, Pinkari, Halling, or The Boss's appearance. All rights go to the wonderful reviewers, Hiromu Arakawa, and Level-5.**

"We haven't had any screen time in a while, huh..." sighed one of Silver's not-ninjas.

"Yeah," agreed another. "Not since chapter one and our chapter two cameo."

"Wait, what's that?! Are we rolling?!" gasped yet another.

"We're rolling!" cheered the first. "ARCEUS BE PRAISED, WE'RE ROLLING!"

Crystal leaned out of a palace window. "JUST BECAUSE THE CAPTAIN AND ASSISTANT CAPTAIN AREN'T HERE DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN BE SO LOUD!" she shouted. "NOW GET BACK TO TRAINING, YOU LAZY LUMPS!"

The not-ninjas drooped. The queen was as hard on them as the captain was... It was like he wasn't gone...

"Wow, you guys work about as hard as the leader of a pride of lions! You also bear a striking resemblence to a highly sought-after barn animal," said a voice.

The not-ninjas turned and saw a woman in a red kimono and green eyes. She was Kazakazukazakazakakakazuakuzaku Kaahn, but she insisted everyone call her Kaz-usually while holding a knife to their throats. She was quite skilled at the ninja arts, but she had not been appointed the not-ninja assistant captain partly because Silver had deemed her too unpredictable, but mostly because she thought the title sounded stupid.

"Morning, everyone..." yawned another voice, this time male. The not-ninjas turned yet again. This time they were faced with Nicholas Hemmer, a perpetually sleepy boy with brown hair and one impressive cowlick. Like Kaz, he had impressive ninja skills, but he also had an unfortunate habit of falling asleep anywhere.

"Actually, it's already afternoon!" Kaz exclaimed with a brilliant smile. Then she went into motor mouth mode. "You're so lazy Nicholas honestly sleeping in that late how are you ever going to beat anyone like that oh but I forgot you can put them all to sleep ha ha ha it's your only way of fighting no wonder you have a Drowzee this is why the captain never sends you on mission without someone who drinks a lot of coffee!"

"Is that *yawn* so...?" Nicholas yawned sleepily, peering at the older with half-lidded blue eyes. He subconciously reached up and tried to pat down his cowlick, but to no avail. It just popped right back up.

All the other not-ninjas (save for Kaz) also yawned. Man, just being around the guy could make a person sleepy...

"Anyway!" Kaz said loudly, clapping her hands and beaming at her not-ninja comrades. "I received a message from Captain Silver. He wants me to set out and join him in finding Assistant Captain Lyra. Farewell, my not ninja-comrades!" Yes, the hyphen is in the right place. She adjusted her travel bag (wait, when did she get that?), called out her Haunter, and set off down the road with her silver ponytail swinging behind her, intending for her pokemon to scare everyone she met so she could laugh at their expression of fear before fighting them...

Her giggle creeped out the not-ninjas, just the tiniest bit.

Nicholas stood stock still for a while. Then he yawned, tried to smooth down his cowlick again, and ambled after her for no apparent reason.

By that time, all the not-ninja were asleep.

They were given a rather rude awakening.

"GET UP YOU LAZY LUMPS! WHY AREN'T YOU TRAINING!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WE'RE SORRY, SIR, CAPTAIN SILVER, SIR!" they screamed, leaping to their feet.

And indeed, their captain was glaring at them all, his temper foul after his failed search. "I come back to see how you imbeciles are doing, and I find you all lazing around napping?!" he demanded.

"We're sorry, sir," whimpered the one he had left in charge. "It's all Nicholas's fault, sir, you see, he's right... there...?"

"I don't see him," Silver said impatiently. "The only one of you lot to keep up with your training without my orders is Kaz. Speaking of her, where is she?"

The not-ninja blinked in confusion. "But... But she said you wanted her to go and accompany you..." he mumbled.

"Speak up!" Silver snapped. His subordinate flinched again.

"SIR! She left a while ago to go after you saying she was under orders, SIR!" the not-ninja yelped. Bunch of spineless cowards, they all are. Aren't ninja supposed to be tough? Honestly, quailing at a mere Laser Glare V2... A Death Glare G3 is understandable, but Silver wasn't _that_ ticked off.

Yet.

"Silver? You're back already? How did your search go?" Queen Crystal hustled down the stairs, followed closely by the Librarian Soul, the Treasurer Blue, and the Healer Yellow. Silver was grateful that King Gold was not there as well, for he was in no mood to deal with the biggest idiot of all at the moment.

"Hello, Your Majesty. I couldn't find her. Yes, Soul, I missed you too. Yellow, you can put away those bandages; I'm not hurt. Sis, I'm going to need your help."

Blue tilted her head to the side. "My help? With what?" she questioned.

"The werewolf king suggested I go to the mermaid queen for information," the man explained, speaking with some difficulty due to his wife's arms wrapped tightly around him and cutting off his circulation. "The previous captain once told me that she always demands a lot of expensive jewels in return for information, so I figured I should bring a bargainer with me..."

Blue nodded in understanding. "I get it." She chuckled. "Well, I'm all for it! Turquoise can handle the treasury for a little while, and besides..." Her eyes glinted. "I've always wanted to see the mermaids' palace..."

"So you're going underwater?" Soul gasped, finally letting go of Silver and clapping excitedly. "How wonderful! Bring me back a souvenir, okay?!"

"Of course we will," Blue said, affectionately ruffling her sister-in-law's hair. "Of course we will..."

Queen Crystal sighed wearily. "Just try not to start a war..." she pleaded.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Blue chuckled. That just made poor Crystal even more suspicious.

"Fine. Now if you'll excuse me..." The queen swept off to the scrying tower.

Once she arrived, she went straight to the scrying bowl. The face of a woman-younger than her by a few years-was in it. "Hello, Your Majesty."

"Hello, Professor Rosanna," Crystal said, smiling tiredly. "My apologies for keeping you waiting. Anything to report?"

"Yes. Your ninja squad's assistant captain is missing, correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Does she happen to look like a female version of the captain?"

"Yes..."

"In that case, I know where she's being held. Lord The Boss recently ordered Simmons to capture someone matching that description exactly."

For a few moments, Crystal was speechless. "Oh my," she managed to say. Well, now she was certainly in a bind. Order the young professor to bring Lyra back, and she would lose her spy. Tell Silver, and the man would probably kill her spy. Yes, it was quite a pickle...

Pickle...

Pickle!

"Your Majesty?" Professor Rosanna asked.

"Gold is having a pickle party!" the other woman screamed. "I completely forgot! Thank you for your information; be sure to keep me posted!" Then she zoomed off, presumably to stop her husband from his odd food party.

* * *

Orange's team was still wandering around lost. Because of their directionally challenged leader, they had stood Rusty up and then dropped him, traveling in whichever direction he pointed out. They were currently traveling on a road lined with overgrown weeds with not an onion to their names, nor any other food. Then suddenly, they saw a hunched figure next to what appeared to be a snack stand.

Naturally, they ran towards it, pushing and shoving each other as they raced to the oasis. Well, they could probably eat the weeds on the side of the road, but they didn't want to risk getting food poisoning.

"A cheese sandwich!" Orange yelled.

"Onion rings!" Lustrous shouted.

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!" Adamant roared.

As they approached, they saw that the hunched figure was sobbing. Abandoning their hunger, they walked up to it to see what was wrong.

"Hey, what happened?" Orange asked.

The figure's eyes glinted, and he immediately grabbed Orange's hands. "Customers! I'M SAVED!"

"Er... saved from what?" Orange asked, more than slightly scared and freaked out.

"Buy my Darkrai charms! I'll even throw in a free Darkrai cookie!"

"Um... What?"

"Or are you one of those villagers, here to beg forgiveness now that you've realized that Darkrai won't grant you a good harvest because you failed to perform the proper sacrifices?! Is that it?!" Now the boy had a scary glint in his green eyes. Seriously, what's with all the people with green eyes in this story? Oh well. His eyes were the same shade as a Darkrai's, anyway.

"N-No!" Orange stammered. "We're not customers or villagers, we're just lost travelers!" He turned to leave.

"There's no escape, piggy bank!" the dark-haired Darkrai boy hissed, the upper half of his face shaded and his eyes glowing scarily. Halfway across the kingdom, a miner called Halling sneezed. "For the low, low price of 800000 Poke, you can be the proud owner of a high-quality, hand-woven Darkrai charm! It'll bring you good luck! Now hand over your wallets!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!" Orange wailed. "GUYS, SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Lustrous had already run a good distance away. "SO LONG! IT WAS NICE KNOWING YOU, BUT HERE IS WHERE WE PART WAYS!' she shouted.

Adamant alone remained behind. His nostrils were enlarged as he sniffed the air. "I smell cookies," he said, looking like a mighty hunter on the trail of its prey.

"Yes!" The boy agreed, "They're Darkrai cookies! Like fortune cookies, except better! Now..."

"Yes?" Adamant asked.

"Your wallet, please!"

"Okay," Adamant said calmly, handing over a wallet. "How many cookies can I buy with that?" The wallet was empty, by the way.

"NONE!" the boy howled. "GIVE ME HIS WALLET, TOO!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!" Orange yelped. And it was true. All his funds had been spent buying new strings for Jo.

Jo...

Jo!

"I know! I can play my banjo in exchange for the cookies!" Orange said desperately. "I'm pretty sure I know a ballad about Darkrai..."

"Darkrai? Please, play it! If Darkrai is pleased, I will certainly receive a sign telling me to give you a Darkrai cookie!" the Darkrai boy declared.

Orange cleared his throat and began to play and sing.

 _"O Darkrai, O Darkrai,_

 _"Scary lord of the night_

 _"O Dreambringer, O Dreambringer,_

 _"Fade not away with the light,"_ that line was originally "fade away with the light," but Orange was smart enough to realize that singing it like that would be a stupid idea,

 _"O Darkrai, O Darkrai,_

 _"Crowned the nightmare king_

 _"O Dreambringer, O Dreambringer,_

 _"It is of thy praises I sing_

 _"O Darkrai, O Darkrai,_

 _"Silhouetted by the moon_

 _"O Dreambringer, O Dreambringer,_

 _"Meeting with Cresselia soon_

 _"O Darkrai, O Darkrai,_

 _"In battle you face her,_

 _"O Dreambringer, O Dreambringer,_

"I forget the rest of lyrics so please forgive me, sir!"

Apparently Darkrai had weird taste in songs; a smiley face card fluttered down to the Darkrai boy.

"Yes! This is it! Have a Darkrai cookie! Hey, can I go along with you guys? I'm Grisseo, nice ta meetcha!" Grisseo exclaimed without taking a breath.

While Orange and Adamant devoured their cookies, Lustrous cautiously returned to answer. "Are you gonna be this weird the whole trip?" she asked suspiciously.

"Weird? I'm... weird?" Grisseo began to mope.

"You're not! You're not!" Orange exclaimed hurriedly, being the nice guy he is. "And these cookies are awesome! Of course you can come with us!" Lustrous facepalmed.

"YEAH! Thanks, buddy!" Grisseo replied, instantly cheered up. "By the way, what's your fortune?"

Orange read it. "'You will find the pink whack in a pink shack near a smokestack'. What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe it's telling us where we can find Pinkari," Adamant suggested.

"Really?! Then let's get going!" Lustrous shouted.

* * *

Kara walked down the stairs after placing a call. She saw Genevieve coming and moved to avoid her. Unfortunately, the younger of the two crashed into her anyway, seemingly on purpose.

"Hey, what was that for? You wanna fight or what?" the silver-haired girl sneered, pulling out her crystal-bladed scythe from seemingly out of nowhere. Kara had always wondered why the blade was made of crystal. Was there an enchantment placed upon it? How much pressure had to be applied to the weapon in order to make it break? And why not a diamond scythe? Wait- NO! She had to focus! She would be of no use to her employer if she was dead!

"We can't fight, Genevieve," the woman said calmly. "The Boss forbade it, remember? And you know he has ways of knowing."

"We can always have a pokemon battle," Genevieve said, spreading her arms. "That's not against your precious _rules_. Go, Mettara!" She threw her pokeball, and a shiny Gallade popped out of it.

Kara tsked. She couldn't negotiate her way out of this one. If only 700 hadn't already left on a mission; he was as good as a lawyer in cases such as these... "Go, Cryogonal!" she called. The snowflake-shaped pokemon hustled out of its pokeball.

An epic wind epically blew both the women's hair as well as an equally epic tumbleweed in preparation for the battle. Kara made a mental note to find someone to fix the drafty wall.

However, before they could start battling (and destroying the castle), the only male currently in residence (The Boss was out as well, probably meeting with his hair stylist) put a stop to it.

"Stop. You'll destroy the castle," Leon scolded, stepping out from another hallway. "Kara." He held up the pokeball of Darkflare, his Houndoom. "Check-up."

Relieved she didn't have to lose her temper (and her laboratory-she had put a great deal of work into it and would hate to accidentally destroy it in a rampage), the only one of them with the necessary equipment nodded. "Of course. Follow me."

"Wait! Us, too!" two voices chorused. Kara turned and saw Natalie and Mithril standing behind Leon.

"Tiki hasn't been too keen on leaving my hat," Natalie explained. "It's like he made his own web, and now he has to get stuck on it!"

"LUCARIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mithril burst out at the top of her lungs. "Has a cold."

Kara suppressed the urge to sigh. _These_ were her colleagues?

"But wait!" Mithril continued, " I have decided to gift you with a demonstration of Lucario's Aura Sphere. KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Nothing happened. Kara suppressed the urge to bash her head into the wall. "Mithril," she said dangerously, "I am _this_ close to snapping. And you don't want to see that, do you?"

Mithril opened her mouth to speak, but Leon dragged her back and shook his head, eyes closed.

"See, _one_ of you has sense," Kara said, calming down a bit. "Let's hope it's contagious. Come on."

"Tch," Genevieve muttered as the three patients' caretakers walked past her, following Kara down to her lab. "And here I was hoping for a fight to relieve the boredom..." Then she remembered the girl in the tower. She was supposed to be the assistant captain of some ninja squad, so that would mean she was strong, right? Genevieve smirked. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying went...

* * *

Genevieve opened the door to Lyra's room. "Fight me."

The redhead's reaction was nothing like what she expected.

"WOOHOOO! FINALLY SOME SCREEN TIME! GODS OF FANFICTION, I SHALL SACRIFICE MORE VOODOO DOLLS LATER! YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Lyra screamed, throwing confetti everywhere.

"Hey, I said fight me!" Genevieve snarled.

Lyra quickly calmed down and cracked her knuckles. "Sure. One-on-one brawl fine with you?" She smirked. "Unless of course you can't fight without that fancy scythe of yours..."

Genevieve glared. This girl was asking for it. "Fine by me," she seethed.

And so they went at it, punching and kicking and dodging and headbutting. Genevieve had hoped to exercise her scythe, but this would have to do. It was no fun to fight a frightened or reluctant opponent; whether they realized it or not, they never used their full abilities.

Being older and more experienced, Genevieve expected to quickly gain an advantage. She did not. Lyra matched her kick for kick and punch for punch. She had been right; ninja training did indeed make the girl powerful. She was just beginning to really let loose when The Boss swept in, hood off for once.

"Hey! Why are you fighting? I said no fighting in the building!" he yelled, lowering the temperature to about -273 degrees Celsius.

Genevieve opened her mouth. "Sir, I-"

"It's no problem, really. Please, go on."

They resumed their brawl, but, unnerved by her boss's sudden appearance, Genevieve could not focus and was quickly felled.

"Good try," chuckled The Boss. "Here, have a cookie." After offering Genevieve a stale slapjack, The Boss took his leave.

Lyra was in shock. The man who had just left had seemed like an idiot, but she could feel a sinister aura that matched, no, _surpassed_ , her father's. Also, that stupid Genevieve had seemed in absolute terror of him and was quite shaken up. Lyra knew because Genevieve had offered half her was bad. She had gotten captured by someone who was definitely far too dangerous for her to handle on her own. And what's more, he looked awfully familiar... Pale skin, gold eyes, underlashes, and blue hair in a distinctive wacky 'do-spiked up and the longer parts in a weird curl-ish ponytail in the back... Ah well. She'd figure it out eventually. For now, she had one goal to stick to: finding allies.

* * *

On Mt. Wesuwius, Lapis was getting staffed off it by an old man who talked like Yoda.

 **Petal: I think this chapter is longer than the last one. I'm so proud. 8** **D**

 **Copper: I'm very proud of my helpfulness! |:(**

 **Petal: ...Yes, yes. I hope we wrote all the OCs correctly! Please review!**


	6. Lapis Finally Makes Some Progress

**Petal: This is our longest chapter! We're finally getting around to decent-sized ones!**

 **Copper: Once we get into the thick of the plot, we might be even longer!**

 **Petal: Shh, we don't know if that's possible yet! Er, anyway... Our sincere apologies to DeathDealer1997. And now for the disclaimer! Pokemon, Kaz, Nicholas, 700, Pinkari, Harvest Moon, Natalie, Mithril, and Leon don't belong to us!**

After Yoduh pushed him, Lapis rolled around haphazardly and eventually came to a stop at the bottom of the _other_ side of the mountain. Of course, he didn't realize that. He wondered how the scenery could have changed so much in just a few hours...

Then he noticed a smokestack in the distance. _Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar_ in the distance, so it still looked tiny. With his gift of keen eyesight, he could see what had been invisible in our heroes' points of view. Then he quickly pulled out his ninja binoculars and zoomed in even more. The smokestack was pink and attached to a pink shack. There was another little pink dot next to the smokestack, but when he tried to zoom in on it, the binoculars exploded. He grumbled about how unreliable International Police merchandise was. Then he recalled the words of the kid he had met in the shrine.

 _"So, you'll find Orange near a smokstack, in a pink shack, with a pink wack!"_

Smokestack, check. Pink shack, check. Pink wack, probably in the pink shack. Orange, GONNA BE FOUND.

Without wasting anymore time, he zoomed off, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

* * *

After leaving the castle, Kaz and Nicholas kept walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and walking... and WHO THREW THAT RAW OCTOPUS SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NOW.

...In any case, Kaz and Nicholas kept walking. Along the way. Kaz started to fall asleep. Darn Nicholas.

SUDDENLY, A SQUIRREL FELL FROM THE SKY!

RIGHT ONTO A TURTLE THAT WAS IN FRONT OF THEM!

AND THEN IT MERGED INTO A SQUIRTLE!

Well, that certainly woke Kaz up. Even Nicholas widened his eyes for a fraction of a second, and his cowlick stood straight up. Kaz kicked the Squirtle so it fell on the back of its shell, struggling to get back up.

"Squirtle squirt squirt!" it wailed. Then a lightbulb flashed above its head. It started gyrating until the force of its spin managed to lift it off the ground.

SQUIRTLE USED RAPID SPIN!

"Oh, the poor helpless Squirtle went to the trouble of getting in the air. Might as well help it get some distance!" Kaz cackled. She grabbed Nicholas by his feet and swung him like a baseball bat.

HOOOOOOOOME RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!

(A/N: No Squirtles were harmed in the making of this chapter. And no, this is not important to the plot... probably.)

The Squirtle went flying off into the distance, eventually disappearing into the sky as a twinkling star. Kaz laughed, dropped Nicholas, and continued on her way, stepping on the lethargic boy because she had dropped him directly in front of her. As for Nicholas, he didn't mind much. He yawned, got up, scratched his head, tried to smooth down his cowlick, and wandered after her, crashing into a few trees before getting his bearings.

The pair soon arrived at Ecruteak City. Kaz headed straight for the Kimono Dance Theatre; large gathering places were the best places to gather information, after all. She could pose as a trainee dancer trying to get accustomed to the place-she had no doubt that the people there would welcome her with open arms, naive smiles, and a fountain of information. Nicholas continued to follow her and made the people on the street fall asleep.

Kaz decided she had to do something about this. It was a pain to gather information from people who weren't awake. She turned around, punched him in the face with a smile and an insincere sorry, and continued on her way.

Nicholas buried his face in his sweater and fell asleep. Drowzee popped out of her pokeball and started dragging her trainer.

* * *

700 was a man on a mission. An emotionless man on a dull mission, yes, but still a man on a mission. The mission? To assassinate Oushou Baka. Yes, boring, isn't it? The man was a crime lord bigshot who had gotten a _liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle_ too powerful for The Boss's liking. As the default agent for assassination missions requiring secrecy, 700 had been ordered to find Baka and eliminate him. The black-haired man had tracked Baka to Ecruteak City-or more specifically, Ecruteak City's Kimono Dance Theatre. Adjusting the plain brown yukata he was wearing to blend in (the topknot of his disguise kept his hair out of his face-quite efficient; he resolved to use it the next time he had to grow it out for a disguise), he stepped into the city...

...and was almost run over by a horse and cart.

"Are you okay?!" screamed the man driving the cart as he reigned in the horses. "I'm so, so sorry!"

"I am fine," 700 answered, dusting himself off. The tuck and roll; foolproof!

"I'm sorry," the driver apologized again, bowing his head. "I'm Morty; may I ask what your name is?"

"Kuromaru Midorikawa," 700 responded, using a name that was more common to this area of the kingdom. "Where might I find the Kimono Dance Theatre?"

Morty smiled. "That's where I'm headed, actually; I'm making my daily delivery of tea leaves. I can't make up for almost turning you into a ghost, but please, allow me to bring you to there in my cart!"

700 considered this. If he was going with a trusted native, the people would be less inclined to be suspicious of him, and he could take Baka down in a flash. He nodded. "Thank you."

Once in the cart with the sacks of tea leaves, he surmised that if Morty made daily deliveries of this amount, the Theatre was likely packed with people. He would be able to kill Baka in seconds and escape in the crowd without drawing much attention to himself. However, the assassination would be complicated if Baka had a posse around him. Worst case scenario, there would be an Officer Jenny near Baka, but 700 could not disobey his boss. He could not even entertain the thought of doing anything that The Boss told him not to do. Was there a time when he didn't mindlessly obey every word of The Boss's? No, he couldn't imagine that. After all, The Boss was the boss, and that was it.

Eventually, the cart rolled to a stop. "We're here!" Morty announced, though 700 could already see that from the sign above the establishment. "Well, I have to unload the deliveries for the Theatre." He hopped into the back of the cart and tied together a portion of the bags. 700 realized that the tea leaves weren't all meant for the theatre. Well. That certainly complicated things.

Suddenly, he stiffened, breaking out of his musings. Something was off. Something was _very_ off. He was feeling something he wasn't supposed to feel: annoyance. Actually, he shouldn't have been feeling anything at all, given his apathetic personality, but that's beside the point. The point was that he knew from past experience that the feeling of annoyance was attributed to someone who was tracking him down. He believed the word for it was "stalker". In any case, the feeling of annoyance meant she had found him and was near- _again_. The biggest problem was that if they were in close proximity or even in the same room, his disease struck.

It was a terrible disease that he didn't know the name or nor cure for, though according to Mithril, it was some kind of heart illness. His symptoms included pain in his chest and water leaving his body from his eyes at an alarmingly fast rate. He had had Kara give him a checkup, but she had found no abnormalities and declared him perfectly healthy. The worst part was he didn't even know if it was terminal or not; any normal human being would be dying of anxiety at that point, but then again, any normal human being would know what was happening.

This was bad tidings indeed; he would be in no condition to take a head if that happened, and he would fail his mission. If he failed his mission, The Boss would fire him, and he would lose the protection of the non-trackable base. Out in the world, it would be laughably easy to track him, and the disease would possibly get worse. No, he would not, _could not_ fail this mission. Even if he could not see past the water in his eyes, even if he could not move from the pain in his chest, even if he could not breathe through the tightening of his throat, _he would not fail._

With that cheerful thought in mind, he prepared himself in case the trigger/stalker was inside.

* * *

Kaz stared, her cheerful smile frozen on her face.

Nicholas sat with his head on the table, a cup of green tea in front of him.

Kaz continued to stare.

Nicholas continued to sleep. A trickle of drool connected his mouth to the table.

Kaz frowned. How did he get here before her? When she had left, he was still passed out on the ground; she had had a headstart. How did he arrive before her? She contemplated for a minute. This simply would not do. Perhaps she should abandon her plan to use him as cannon fodder and destroy him...

Suddenly, her head snapped back up, alert.

 _He_ was there.

She knew it.

And she would not allow him to escape. Not this time.

* * *

Orange, Adamant, Lustrous, and Grisseo were trying to figure out what to do next. They now knew what they were looking for, but they had no idea where it was. How were they to find it? What shade of pink was it? It could be a pale white-pink, a purple-pink, a red-pink, or even a regular pink. What to do, what to do...

"Why don't we check our bags?" Orange suggested. "We might find something there! Like a map!" The rest of the group agreed, and they started digging through their travel packs.

Orange had: Jo, a few apple cores, banjo maintenance equipment, Rusty, a useless sword-polishing rag that was often stolen to polish a certain silver toothpick, a change of clothes, and an empty wallet.

Lustrous stared at him in disbelief. "You've survived this long on _that_?!" she shrieked.

Orange grinned sheepishly. "I have good luck...?" he offered.

Chu had: the Elexecutor, his triangle, and some more apple cores, plus a wedge of moldy cheese. He hissed territorially when he saw everyone looking at his stuff and threw the apple cores at them.

Lustrous had: a book of gags, clothes (not just hers), her paper fan, a half-empty wallet, a water bottle, and rations. Arler had more rations in his saddlebags.

"Wow! You're so prepared!" Orange praised, staring at the wallet and food.

Lustrous snorted. "This is the stuff you're _supposed_ to bring, dumbo," she hissed. "I don't have a map, though... I thought we would just be going on our usual path to my parents' home..."

Adamant had: cooking utensils and food. LOTS of food.

Lustrous facepalmed and turned to Grisseo. " _Please_ tell me you have something useful," she groaned.

Grisseo looked down. "Not really... I was going to buy some useful stuff with the money from my stand, but nobody showed up..."

Grisseo had: maps, a compass, hiking boots, hiking sticks, sun hats, sunglasses, goggles, snorkels, flippers, spacesuits, space food, a mini fridge filled with fruits, vegetables (that all had angry faces drawn on them with mayonnaise), meat, and milk, frozen pizzas, a full-size freezer with ice cream bars of every flavor in it, ninja outfits, water spiders with matching bamboo poles, cloaks to be matched with walls, smoke bombs that smelled like bacon, umbrellas, a bingo book, matches, lamps, candles, water bottles, and a Darkrai costume.

"See? Practically no Darkrai stuff!" Grisseo exclaimed.

Lustrous didn't even bother asking about the other stuff or even how it all fit in his bag; she grabbed the map and compass. "This!" she exclaimed excitedly. "This is it! This is what we need!" She promptly set about using landmarks and the identifying the paths marked on the map to find where Pinkari was likely to be. Orange, Chu, and Grisseo ooh-ed and ahh-ed over how responsible she was. She hit them with her fan.

She soon came to a conclusion. "There's a dense population of Pinkan trees somewhere around here," she declared. "That's where we need to go."

"Which way is it?!" Orange asked excitedly.

Lustrous smirked. "Well, I'd use the compass, but that would take too long. Instead..." She snapped her fingers. "Ad!"

Adamant started sniffing the air like a bloodhound. When he lowered his head back down, his eyes had an intense look in them. "It's _THAT WAY_ ," he said firmly, pointing in the direction the sun traveled.

Orange, Chu, and Grisseo ooh-ed and ahh-ed again. The party started walking in that direction. Once noon hit, they had to put on sunglasses.

"Hey... I just realized something," Orange said with a frown. "If you guys had all that food, why didn't we eat it?!"

"Rations aren't to be eaten until we're on the verge of dying of hunger," Lustrous snapped.

"I was so hungry I forgot the combination of the safe it's in!" Adamant explained.

The rest of the group (save for Grisseo) sweatdropped. _'One batch of cookies is enough to fill you up...?!'_ they thought collectively.

Grisseo nodded. "I get that way sometimes, too... It shames me to eat my own merchandise, but..."

Orange and Lustrous gained more sweatdrops. Chu just rolled his eyes.

And so they continued walking. Orange stopped them again. "It's noon. I vote we have lunch!" he declared.

They all agreed that it was a good idea, so they sat down as Adamant started cooking.

"What'll we do when we meet Pinkari?" Orange asked.

Lustrous sighed. "Seriously...?" she deadpanned. "Obviously, we get him to restore Firestar as best he can."

"Firestar? Who's that? I'm sure if you pray to Darkrai, he or she will be 'restored!'" Grisseo declared.

Lustrous rolled her eyes. "That's your answer to everything, isn't it?"

"Not just _my_ answer!" Grisseo said indignantly. "It's _the_ answer to everything!" Lustrous gave him a look of extreme disgust and skepticism.

"Firestar is another name for my sword, Rusty," Orange explained as he polished Jo.

"No, it's the official name," Lustrous corrected him. "You just decided to call it Rusty."

Orange frowned at her. "Hey, don't call Rusty an it! You'll hurt his feelings!" he whined.

Lustrous resisted the urge to facepalm. Facepalming too much in one day was bad for one's health. "...Anyway, we get Pinkari to restore Firestar to its-" she caught Orange's frown, "fine, _his_ former glory, and then we get him to tell us some of the sword's lore."

"Lore?" Orange and Grisseo asked in unison.

"Like, if it was ever used by Darkrai?" Grisseo continued.

This time, Lustrous really did facepalm. "No, you idiots! The story behind the sword! If there was anything special about the way it was made, what happened to it, and most importantly: why is it so famous when it was taken the very day it was completed?!" She stalked off.

Adamant, Orange, and Grisseo followed her, though Adamant had to run-he was, after all, behind because he had to repack his cooking materials.

They soon came upon a pink person passed out on the ground holding a bag of beans. Well, actually, it was just a person with pink hair and pink clothes. Oddly enough, the person's hair was extremely spiky and made up a good fourth of his height.

Orange did what his heroic instincts ordered: he helped the old man up and offered him a Pecha berry. "Old man, are you okay?" he asked.

Lustrous sighed. "Dude, he's passed out. He can't-"

The old man sat up on his own, opened his eyes (which were, unsurprisingly, pink), and smiled. "Yes, thank you. I say, is that a Pecha berry?"

Orange nodded. "Yeah. I though maybe you passed out from hunger..."

The old man nodded. "Indeed I did. Thank you for the berry." He broke it in half and gave one of the halves to Orange. "Here you go; you should have half. Youngsters are always hungry, aren't they?"

"Yeah! Thanks!" Orange exclaimed delightedly.

"I'd offer you all Pinkan berries, but I don't have any with me at the moment," the old man continued. "I'm trying to expand their range by planting them all over."

"Oh, we'll help you!" Orange offered. "We can plant real good, right guys?"

Lustrous nodded. "Me and Ad, sure, but what about you and Grisseo?"

"Grisseo used to be a farmer, remember?" Orange

"Actually, I, uh, wasn't a very good farmer. I sorta stole the other villagers' crops and sacrificed them to Darkrai..." Grisseo admitted.

The rest of the party stared at him. Then they shuffled back a few steps.

But not the kindly old man! He stepped _forward_ and patted Grisseo on the shoulder. "If you sacrificed to Darkrai, I'm sure he will help you in planting crops yourself!" he said merrily.

Grisseo's eyes watered. "Old man... THAT'S THE FIRST TIME ANYONE'S TRULY UNDERSTOOD! LET'S GET PLANTING!"

While Grisseo ran around playing Takeru from Harvest Moon, Lustrous approached the old man. "You said you're planting Pinkan berries... That means you have some. And isn't there a Pinkan tree orchard around here?" she asked.

The old man nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact! It's my pride and joy. In fact, after you kind young folk finish helping me plant these berry seeds, you're welcome to come with me and see the trees for yourself." He noticed Lustrous's slack-jawed stare. "Is something wrong?"

"OH MY ARCEUS!" she shrieked. "YOU'RE PINKARI THE SWORDSMITH!"

* * *

Silver stopped rowing. "Is this the spot?" he asked.

Blue checked the waterproof guidebook. "Looks like. Okay, time to drop the token..." She dropped a small gold earring. They waited.

A minute later, someone rose out of the water. It was a woman with short orange hair. She was holding the earring in her hand. "I assume you wish to go underwater?" she asked.

Silver nodded. "Yes."

The woman bowed her head. "Very well. I am Misty; I will be your guide. Brawly, Wallace." She snapped her fingers. Two more people rose up, both men with blue hair, though one had a beret of some sort. Misty raised her hands, and two bubbles rose out of the water. Blue and Silver stepped into them, and Misty tied ropes around the bubbles. Brawly and Wallace grabbed one each and pulled them underwater.

Now that Blue and Silver could see the merfolk in full length, they saw that Misty had a cerulean tail, Brawly an orange one, and Wallace a pale blue one decorated with more shells and gems than Misty's was.

"Quite fashionable of you," Blue noted.

Wallace smiled. "Well, of course. A merperson must look their best at all times, I always say. I'm glad _someone_ finally appreciates it." He shot a glare at Brawly and Misty.

Brawly put up a hand in mock surrender. "Sorry, man. I'm not hating on you or anything; I just don't see the point." Misty nodded in agreement.

Silver, in the meantime, was examining their surroundings. He couldn't see far at all, and it was getting colder. He knew that the bubble had been constructed of purified water with the mermaid's abilities, so he was certain it was freezing outside it. He gritted his teeth. He wasn't comfortable going into a place where he was completely defenseless, but he had no other choice.

"We're almost there," Misty declared, snapping Silver out of his thoughts.

He noticed that he could see once again, and it was warming back up. They were nearing a city that gave off a warm, golden glow.

"Welcome to Sootopolis, the capital city of the merfolk!" Misty announced, shrinking the bubbles down to their heads so they could walk on their own. "Where do you wish to go?"

"Straight to the queen," Silver said firmly. "We have something to discuss with her."

* * *

Five minutes later, they arrived at the palace-the throne room.

"Well? What do you need?" inquired the queen, a red-haired mermaid adorned in all manner of expensive jewelry that did not escape Blue's notice.

Silver bowed his head. "Queen Lorelei. I am Silver, the captain of Konton no Tochi's ninja corps. I have come seeking information." He mentally cackled. _'That idiot Gold isn't watching! So he can take that stupid name and stuff it!'_

Lorelei raised an eyebrow. "Well, as the queen of the seas, I know much. But for this information, I will require... a price." She paused so as to let that sink in. Silver did not react.

"What is _wrong_ with you?! EVERYBODY gasps at that!" the mermaid queen sputtered.

"I came well aware that you would demand an outlandish price. So I brought with me..." he gestured to Blue, "...a haggler."

Everybody gasped, even Queen Lorelei.

"I see..." she said through gritted teeth. "So you came to fight me, eh..."

' _Does this actually count as fighting?'_ the onlookers wondered.

"That's right!" Blue declared. "This is one fight you won't win! For I am... a treasurer!"

The onlookers gasped. A treasurer! Those were mythical beings who lived on land and counted money! Was there queen prepared for combat with such a being?

"You think I won't win?" asked Lorelei haughtily. "I will. After all, I am... a queen."

This was getting ridiculous. The onlookers asked them to start haggling already.

"Fine, fine," the queen grumbled irritably. "I demand a sum of 50,000 Big Nuggets in return for this information."

Blue snorted. "50,000 Big Nuggets for the information we want? You're overcharging. It's a mere trifle for one of your caliber."

Lorelei hummed. "Yes, I _am_ infinitely more intelligent than you humans... Perhaps I'll give it to you for just 5,000."

Blue smiled winningly. "Do you really _need_ 5,000 Big Nuggets? I'm sure your treasure room is vast, but it's so much more _pleasing_ to see open space, know you can have more, right?"

The mermaid queen nodded. "Yes, you're right... But I can't just let you go for anything less... Still 5,000."

Blue mentally smirked. The queen was right where she wanted her. "Of _course_ you can! As a matter of fact, if you do, it'll be a lasting symbol of goodwill between our kingdoms! 10 years from now, children will learn about this deal in school! Your name will be immortalized!"

"My name... immortalized? When you put it that way... I suppose I could let you off for just 50," the queen relented.

Blue grinned. "I knew you'd understand! But really, Big Nuggets are so cumbersome, aren't they? Why not just settle for a few Pearls to string on a necklace? As a matter of fact, I have a necklace prepared already! It's a win-win for you, isn't it?"

Lorelei mulled it over. "Win-win... immortalized... Yes, I'll take it. What is it that you want to know?"

Silver stepped forward. "I wish to know the location of my daughter, Lyra Gin."

Lorelei frowned. "Well, that is a tricky one." She put down the necklace and laid a hand on the large pearl resting in her lap. "News of that has not reached me. Please wait a moment..." The pearl began to glow. The light reflected off her glasses as she studied it. "It seems... I cannot find her."

"What?!" Silver shouted, stepping forward threateningly and reaching for his sword. Yes, the idiots didn't think to confiscate his weapons.

Lorelei looked back up and glared icily, and Silver felt the water around him begin to freeze. "I never said I don't know where she is." She eased her magic, and Silver unfroze. "So calm yourself. I cannot find her, but that means she is in a place that has an untrackable charm placed upon it. There are few such places in this world, but they are the home of the hermit Yoduh, your own castle's ninja base, the healing, flammable hot springs, Spear Pillar, Sootopolis City, and... The Boss's hideout."

Silver blinked. "...Pardon? Who's the boss?"

Lorelei sighed. "The Boss, capital letters. He was the captain of the guard a few generations back."

Silver's eyes widened. "You can't mean the one who went traitor and tried to take over the kingdom?!"

"Oh, but I do," Lorelei said seriously. "And like all the others, you cannot look on a map to find it. You will have to visit them all one at a time until you find her, but you will have to look for the locations yourself."

* * *

Lyra looked out the window. "Dad..." she murmured. Then her hand shot out like a snake.

" _What_ do you think you're doing?!" she growled.

Natalie giggled nervously. "N-Nothing. Nothing at all."

"PUT DOWN THE GAME PIECE. NOW."

And then Mithril flipped the gameboard yelling, "ALIEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Darn it, Mithril, my next card was a Sorry!" Natalie exclaimed.

Leon frowned. "You were going to cheat?"

Natalie froze. "Uhh... FREE-FOR-ALL!" Then she launched herself at him. He closed his eyes and sidestepped and watched her crash into the ground face-first. He sighed and shook his head while Lyra and Mithril dog-piled on top of her.

 **Copper: Thank you for reading! Please review.**

 **Petal: Reviewing makes us happy authors.**


	7. A Killer Reunion

**Petal: Sorry this is late! I was busy with my head stuck in the Oresama Teacher series. And Copper...**

 **Copper: pikaree1 doesn't own Pokemon!**

 **Petal: ...YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN WHAT YOU WERE BUSY DOING!**

 **Copper: I was busy getting my teeth pulled out.**

 **Petal: Yep. Evil dentists... *shudder* Anyway, we also don't own Inazuma Eleven. Just, you know, we referenced it... And we don't own Wobbo, Kaz, 700, Nicholas, Leon, Kara, Mithril, or Pinkari. Also, should we up the rating? *shadowed face* Kaz explicitly killed someone today...sssssa**

The time? The middle of the afternoon.

The place? The orchard of the swordsmith Pinkari.

Two pokemon were glaring each other down, one a male Wobbuffet, the other a female Lopunny. Both were attired in white collared shirts and loose black jackets.

Quite an odd set-up, isn't it?

"What are you doing on my land?" the Wobbuffet asked.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention: he could talk. I know what you're thinking, but come on, it's not _that_ unplausible! Wobbuffet are very intelligent creatures. Probably.

"[I came to settle this, Wobbo,]" the Lopunny growled. She paused. "[...Actually, my followers did.]" She gestured to the band of pokemon behind her.

"[Let the battle for domination of the territory between the banchos of East and West begin!]" announced a Frogadier, one of the Lopunny's men.

"[They have a _NINJA_?!]" demanded some of Wobbo's gang.

"But you don't even want this territory," Wobbo pointed out. "Can we talk about this?"

The Lopunny sighed. "[We would, but...]" She looked behind her.

"[GET HIM, BANCHO!]" cheered an overly-enthusiastic Tranquill.

"[NO! I WANNA FIGHT HIM!]" demanded an equally over-enthusiastic Tyrogue.

The two got their heads bashed by an Ursaring. "[Shut up, both of you,]" he snarled.

The Lopunny sighed. "[So, we need to finish this here and now.]" She cracked her knuckles. "[Let's do this.]"

Suddenly, a Squirtle came flying out of nowhere. Not only had it interrupted the battle before it could begin, it was also headed straight at an unsuspecting Wynaut.

But Wobbo wouldn't let some Squirtle hurt his follower! He hit it away with his wooden plank using about forty percent of his power.

Unfortunately, it was hit on a collision course with the Tyrogue.

"[TYROGUE!]" Lopunny screamed, suddenly overprotective. The young one was a very proud (and stupid) pokemon who thought dodging and blocking was for the weak. She leaped up and kicked the Squirtle back.

Wobbo hit it back with the wooden plank.

Lopunny kicked it back.

Wobbo hit it back with the wooden plank.

Lopunny kicked it back.

Wobbo hit it back with the wooden plank.

Lopunny kicked it back.

Wobbo hit it back with the wooden plank.

Lopunny kicked it back.

Wobbo hit it back with the wooden plank.

Lopunny kicked it back.

And I should probably put a stop to this before I get hit with another raw octopus.

The two kept hitting the Squirtle back and forth, neither giving an inch. It was like a ping pong match between the two banchos with the Squirtle as the ball.

"[The two keep hitting the Squirtle back and forth, neither giving an inch! It's like a ping pong match between the two banchos with the Squirtle as the ball!]" the Frogadier yelled.

"[SHUT UP NINJA!]" yelled Lopunny, kicking once more.

Wobbo knew he had to do something. The never-ending ping pong match had to end before any of his gang got hurt. He gathered his energy as Squirtle hurtled towards him.

"WOB... BO... WOB... BO... HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he yelled, releasing his ultimate technique, the Wobbowobboha. He sent the Squirtle sailing off into the distance... along with Lopunny and her gang.

Wobbo-bancho: 7,497,259,827,056.

Lopunny-bancho: 7,497,259,827,055.

Battle over?

* * *

After a few hours of running like a maniac, Lapis at long last reached his destination. "ORANGE! I FOUND YA!" he roared, not being a silent ninja like he was supposed to.

Kricketots chirped.

"Aw, don't tell me he ain't here," he muttered. Suddenly, a Squirtle came flying out of the sky and hit him. He passed out in front of the door.

Well. A relatively uneventful arrival.

* * *

The tension in the dance theater could be cut with a knife.

Kaz and 700 were staring each other down. Nicholas was still napping.

Instead of making a very insulting comment to all the onlookers, as was her nature, she zoomed over to 700, her arms spread wide. "BENJEN!"

700 was bewildered and hurt. _Very_ bewildered and _very_ hurt. Bewildered because he didn't recall ever using the name Benjen as an alias, and hurt because of his disease. His chest was throbbing more painfully than any injury he had ever received on a mission, and he half wished Kara was there (she would finally be able to properly diagnose him). His eyes were leaking a warm, clear liquid again and stinging horribly. He found himself unable to move as Kaz came closer and closer.

While he was thinking, Kaz had started speaking. "Benjen! Are you okay?! Where does it hurt?! Who made you cry?! I'll kill 'em! Just say the word and he or she's dead! Wait, it's not a she, is it?! Did some girl break your heart?! I'll destroy her! I'll mutilate her so she's so ugly no man will ever look at her again, but when she wants to just die, oh _no_ , death's too good for the likes of her; I'll keep her alive, but just barely, and-"

700 had managed to regain some control over his body and dodged before she could hug him. He had to kill his target even if this strangely familiar woman got in his way. He threw down a grenade that released a smoke that would cause one's eyes to sting-he could barely see anyway; there was no need to keep it as a last resort anymore-and quickly drew his knives. Undeterred, Kaz put on a pair of goggles (they were standard-issue ninja gear) and continued to chase him. He quickly called out her Gastly to keep her occupied, wiped his eyes, and glanced around the room in the few seconds of clear sight it afforded him. He managed to spot Baka and let the knives fly. Unfortunately, his aim wavered, and they missed. His eyes widened a fraction, but he supposed that he should have expected it-in his unstable condition, fighting was more difficult.

Nothing else to do about it but to use close combat.

He drew another knife and rushed over to his target, but he found that even that was difficult-the pain in his chest had not subsided, and his breaths were ragged and uneven. He hiccupped, another thing that didn't commonly happen to him. "Kkh-!" He couldn't allow it to get the better of him. He attempted to regain his composure as he outlined a simple plan for himself to follow.

1) Get to Baka.

2) Stab his vitals.

3) Run the heck away.

Simple, right? He thought so, too. One of the first things The Boss had taught him during his training was that difficult situations often had simple solutions. He could do this. He knew his strengths, weaknesses, and limits. Assassinating Baka was within his abilities even given his current condition.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten to factor in something, or rather, some _one_.

"Benjen! Why are you running away?!"

If 700 was prone to cursing, he would have. The woman must have gotten past Gastly. However, he didn't dare look back to check. Instead, he sped up and sprinted. Only a few meters to Baka...

Unfortunately, Kaz overtook him with a tackle, her arms wrapping around him tightly. The liquid rushed out of his eyes even more quickly and in bigger droplets, and the pain in his chest intensified. This was bad; this was very, _very_ bad; he was captured by this strange enemy and his condition was worsening. Yes, exceedingly bad. He knew that he should be looking for a way to escape, but he couldn't; his thoughts were in a confusing scatter. _EnemycapturebadtargetkillfailmissionescapefailenemyfailescapeconfusedlostfailcapturedstrangefamiliarsisterlossgoneescapefailenemymissionfailescapefailescapeescapeescapeescapeescapeESCAPE...!_ While he attempted to sort out the muddle of thoughts in his head, he clutched his knife tightly and focused on a single point-that is, Baka. This did not escape Kaz's notice.

"Do you want that man killed?" she asked, her gaze drifting over to 700's target. He nodded mechanically. Kaz's eyes lit up. "Okay!" she said cheerfully. She stood up, dragging him with her, and approached Baka. "Hello!" she greeted him. "Sorry, nothing personal, but Benjen says you have to die! Goodbye!" Then she slit his throat.

Baka slumped to the ground, dead.

700 gasped in horror. No, not because of the cold-blooded murder he just witnessed. He'd done plenty of that himself. He was horrified because someone had killed Baka before him. His mission had failed. His life was over. No, wait. Maybe if he immediately apologized to The Boss, prostrated himself, and begged for forgiveness, he wouldn't be discharged. Yes, that was what he had to do. Now he just had to escape. He severely hoped his disease would not hinder him while he escaped.

But Kaz would not have any of it. She tightened her hold, a large grin on her face. Through his blurred vision, 700 thought he saw tears in her eyes as well. "Benjen! I finally got you!" she exclaimed, voice slightly breathless. "Isn't this great?! We can go home now! Someone might've taken our house while we were gone, but we can always 'persuade' them to give it back! How have you been?! Has anyone been hurting you?! I'll kill them if you just tell me their names!"

700 was still too disoriented to respond. However, he noticed something: the pain in his chest was joined by another feeling. It tickled his chest and made him feel slightly light-headed and dizzy and... _floaty_. Like he could fly. It was quite strange, and the two feelings mixed together felt even stranger. Wait... Was it the 'emotion' thing that Mithril was always talking about? ...Come to think of it, why did Mithril bother him about things so much anyway? Wait, no, he shouldn't be pondering the strangeness of his coworkers. He should be planning an escape route...

Also, Nicholas finally woke up. Standing up, he staggered in a sleepy daze over to Kaz and 700, bumping into quite a few tables and people along the way. Just as he was about to reach her, he tripped over a cup of tea that someone had dropped when 700 had thrown the smoke bomb.

And he crashed into Kaz headfirst.

And made her lose her grip on 700.

And allowed the agent of The Boss the chance to escape.

Which he did.

"*BLEEP* IT, NICHOLAS, YOU *BLEEP*ING *BLEEP*!" Kaz screeched.

Nicholas buried his head in sweater, ashamed. "Sorry, Kaz..."

"Don't 'sorry, Kaz' me, young man!" she snapped. "I've got six years seniority over you in not just age, but time in the ninja corps! I can ruin your career!"

Nicholas vaguely wondered why she didn't threaten to kill him.

"And that's only if you help me get him back! If you fail, I'm going to torture you and kill you slowly and painfully! Maybe electrocute you every time you're about to fall asleep!"

Ah. Okay. "Alright..." Nicholas said. "So *yawn* what now?"

"AFTER HIM!" Kaz roared with a look so fierce and intimidating that it could rival Silver's.

"Yes, ma'am..."

They ran outside and searched, but to no avail. 700 had escaped.

* * *

700 was collapsed on the drawbridge of The Boss's castle. What was he to do? The pain had subsided a bit, but it hadn't disappeared. There was still a dull ache in his chest and a lump in his throat. And then there was the matter of begging for The Boss's forgiveness-he may have been working for the villain the longest, but he knew he was as expendable as everyone else. He stared listlessly at the pale, dreary gray sky. Rain was coming soon; he could tell. He supposed he should go inside before it began so he wouldn't trail water inside, but he couldn't bring himself to move. A familiar face framed with dirty blonde hair suddenly came into his vision.

"Mission?" Leon asked, his expression calm as ever.

"Baka is dead, but not by my hand. Failure," 700 rasped.

Leon shook his head. "Success. As long as the target was killed, Boss doesn't care who did it."

Not seeing the need to respond, 700 continued staring up blankly and waited for Leon to move. The slightly younger man obligingly moved his head and sat down. The two stared off into space in silence.

That is, until 700 decided to speak. "What is it called when one's chest hurts but at the same time feels... light and ticklish?"

Leon was slightly taken aback at the question. "I... don't know. It would be better to ask Natalie or Mithril."

"Ask Natalie or Mithril what?"

The two men turned and saw Kara. "Get inside quickly," she said impatiently. "I need to close the drawbridge before it rains and water gets into the foyer."

700 and Leon stayed where they were for a few seconds before finally getting up and going inside.

"Kara, I think my condition has worsened," 700 muttered.

Kara raised an eyebrow. "Worsened? Worsened how?" She pulled a notepad and pen from her lab coat pocket.

"The trigger finally made physical contact," he explained.

Kara quickly scribbled it down. "And?"

"Before that, I had the usual symptoms, but then she had me in a death grip."

"Interesting. Could you do a tamer reenactment?"

"Alright." He hugged her.

Kara blinked. She had known that many typical human customs were lost on him, but she hadn't known it was to this extent. "Can you describe what happened to you as well as her facial expression?"

"I got a light, ticklish feeling in my chest alongside the pain. As for her face, she was smiling, and I believe she was crying," he reported.

"Most curious..." the scientist murmured, recording it. "I'll need to consult with some acquaintances and a few books, but I think I have a hunch on what your problem is."

"Is there a cure to what you think I have?" 700 asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Kara said thoughtfully. "But that is where the problem lies. I'll explain things in detail if my theory is confirmed."

Their intellectual and serious conversation was interrupted by something random and not at all silly. Well, some _one_.

"SPARKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERS!" Mithril whined, dropping from the ceiling. "Why does Kara get a hug and I don't?! Aren't we friends?! Huh?! Also, Falam Orbius!"

Both 700 and Kara stared at her blankly.

"...We're not?!" she gasped.

Blank Stare V2!

"If you're done being silly, come with me to my laboratory. I want your help with something," Kara deadpanned.

Mithril instantly cheered up. "Okees!" she exclaimed, latching on to the woman. She turned back to 700 and stuck her tongue out childishly. "See?! Even if _you_ don't appreciate my friendship, Kara does!"

700 caught the faded snatchets of conversation as they disappeared down the hall.

"SO! What do you need my evil genius for?"

"Actually, I need your knowledge on human emotion and soap operas."

"Oh, okay. Hey, did you know that you're old enough to be my mom?"

"Technically, yes, but why on Earth would I want to have a child at all, let alone at nineteen?"

"As a reminder that you're an old lady?!"

"Mithril. Thirty four is not old."

700 went over to the kitchen to get some nutrition pills. He was hungry.

* * *

Silver figured that whoever kidnapped Lyra wouldn't keep her in the south where the castle was. So he decided to head to Spear Pillar in the north.

He scoured the area looking for her.

He looked on top of the pillars.

He looked below the pillars.

He even crawled into the Dialga statue's mouth to look for her.

Lyra was not there.

After destroying the Dialga and Palkia statues and glaring down the genuine articles, Silver headed to Mt. Silver.

He looked everywhere, even using Secret Power to hunt for Secret Bases.

Lyra was not there.

Silver returned to the south.

He scaled Mt. Wesuwius and searched all over Yoduh's house, but Lyra was nowhere to be found.

On his way back down, he passed a blonde kid with a banjo, but he was too concentrated on finding Lyra.

The base and Sootopolis had already been searched.

That left one option.

It was time to confront The Boss.

Unfortunately, The Boss's hideout was the only untrackable place that he had never been able to find the location of. He could travel to Rustboro City and visit Miss Doctor Professor Adeline Nurse, DC., DDS., DMD., DPT., ThD., PSYCHE., PhD., ScD., SScD., MD., who was probably the most knowledgeable person in the kingdom, but she might not have the answer even with the large cache of knowledge in her brain, and he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to find her, let alone hold her attention long enough to get an answer.

Blast it! Lapis had better have found Orange!

* * *

"OH MY ARCEUS!" Lustrous shrieked. "YOU'RE PINKARI THE SWORDSMITH!"

"Indeed I am!" Pinkari said merrily. "Did you need me for something?"

"YES! HURRY UP AND RESTORE FIRESTAR! OH WAIT! DO IT AFTER I HELP YOU PLANT THESE CROPS! AFTER ALL NOBODY LIKES PUSHY PEOPLE!" Lustrous exhaled.

"Yes, of course! We should hurry up and plant these seeds so I can show you the trees before _they_ come back..." Pinkari

"'They?' Who're 'they'?" Orange asked.

Pinkari sighed. "You see, my beautiful Pinkan Berry orchard attracted some rather unsavory characters, and I spend most of my time fending them off. I rarely have the chance to expand Pinkan Berries' range like this."

Orange was instantly alert. "Unsavory characters?" he asked. "What kind of unsavory characters? I could beat them up for you!"

Pinkari smiled kindly. "Thank you for the offer, but as strong as you are, you can't defeat them."

"Of course I can!" Orange protested. "I've beaten a bunch of bandits!"

Pinkari shook his head. "But my problem isn't bandits, you see. It's..." he paused dramatically. " _Delinquents_."

Orange gave Pinkari a blank stare. "...There's a difference?"

"Yes, there is," Pinkari said, nodding. "Delinquents fight each other in battles over territory or battles in general. Some smoke, which is bad for one's lungs! Your lungs will turn black if you smoke, so don't do it, kids! They also skip their classes and mug people. Basically, they're petty criminals who aren't yet adults."

Orange gave another blank stare. "If they aren't adults, then shouldn't they be weaker than bandits?"

Pinkari shrugged. "They have the reckless abandon and strength of youth. Also..." He paused again. " _These_ particular delinquents are pokemon."

Processing...

Processing...

Processing...

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Orange and Lustrous screamed while Adamant blinked in surprise. Grisseo had not been paying attention and was still plowing the field.

Pinkari nodded sadly. "Yes. If not for that, I could have defeated them already." He smiled brilliantly. "As a swordsmith, I have quite a collection of sharp, pointy, dangerous swords."

Orange and Lustrous gulped. That sounded rather ominous.

"Anyway, they take breaks from 2-5 pm. As it is currently 4, I would like to invite you to my shack."

Orange and Lustrous (the only ones with strong senses of self-preservation in the group (Lustrous had seen Adamant escape many dangerous situations without even a scratch, and Grisseo thought Darkrai would protect him)) exchanged worried glances.

 _Hey, hey, do you think it'll be okay?_

 _HECK NO. He said it himself! He has a collection of sharp, pointy, dangerous swords!_

 _But he_ looks _harmless..._

 _And you look like a dependable guy._

 _Really? Thanks!_

 _IDIOT! I'm saying that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover!_

 _Oh..._

 _Honestly, how does your girlfriend deal with you?!_

 _Girlfriend?!_

 _Yeah, you mentioned her in that one song._

 _E-Eh?!_

"I'm still here, you know," Pinkari coughed. "Also, are you possibly talking about romance? I can see the pink in your thoughts."

 _This guy's SCARY!_ they both thought at each other.

Pinkari beamed at them cluelessly. "?"

"A-Anyway, let's go..." Orange said shakily. He glanced at Lustrous again. _YOU BREATHE A WORD OF MY CRUSH ON HER TO ANYONE AND YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES._

 _You wouldn't hurt a little girl_ , she sneered back.

They spark glared while Adamant went to collect Grisseo.

* * *

"...Oh my."

The whole group stared down at a boy with brown hair clad in a ninja uniform. His eyes were all swirly. Right next to him was a Squirtle with equally swirly eyes.

Suddenly, the Squirtle regained conciousness, stood up, and walked off Pinkari's front porch.

"Well, let's get him inside," the pink geezer said briskly. Orange nodded and hauled the boy up by the torso.

"Wait, I recognize him!" the blonde said suddenly. "He's a member of the kingdom's ninja corps!" He quickly dragged the younger teen inside and started slapping his face. "Hey, Lapis! Wake up! Lapis!"

"I'll go make Pinkan tea," Pinkari said, hurrying to the kitchen.

"So what's up with this Lapis guy, anyway?" Lustrous asked.

Orange shrugged. "I'm not really sure. He's a third degree acquaintance-my sister's crush's brother, my crush's cousin's friend, either works. We've hung out, but we're not especially close. I can't imagine why he'd search me out..."

Lapis sat up with a jolt. "LY THE ENDOU PENGUIN PLUSHIE IS MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, nearly destroying Orange, Lustrous, Adamant, and Grisseo's eardrums in the process.

After a lot of shouting, arguing, confusion, Darkrai brand exorcism charms, and some hitting, the group finally sorted themselves out.

"Okay. So! Da reason I've searched for ya, who I was never really close wit', is 'cause I was sent by Captain Silver!" Lapis explained.

Orange blanked. "So why did Captain Silver send you after me?"

Lapis sighed. "Y'see... Lyra..."

Orange interrupted. "Lyra announced that she was in love so Captain Silver sent you after me so I could help the guy live a few more minutes before Silver's wrath?"

"... Uh, no." Lapis wondered how Orange could have come to that conclusion. "Ly was 'napped."

"... 'napped'...?"

"Kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped?!" Orange demanded, alarmed. "Why?! No, better yet, _how_?! This is Lyra we're talking about! One of the toughest ninja in the castle! And she's vicious! What idiot would want to kidnap her?!"

"Uhh, a strong one? I think they got the jump on 'er, cuz she doesn't go down inna fight."

Pinkari interrupted. "Gentleman, you should probably save this for later. The delinquents are here, so things are about to get very noisy."

 **Petal: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand** _ **that's**_ **the end of the chapter! Which I wrote most of. *glares meaningfully at Copper***

 **Copper: Yes it is! I just didn't write a lot this time. I'll try harder next time!**

 **Petal: You'd better.**

 **Copper: Bye. See you next chapter!**

 **Petal: And please review!**


	8. Mithril Hatches a Plan

**Petal: I'M SICK.**

 **Copper: I AM NOT SICK.**

 **Petal: AND WHILE I WAS RESTING, I HAD AN IDEA.**

 **Copper: AND WHILE I WAS SLEEPING, CAPS LOCK TOOK OVER THE WORLD.**

 **Petal: ...Weirdo. Anyway, I figured out a new plot advancement that made the chapter longer, so hurrah!**

 **Copper: It's still not as long as the past few chapters. ;_;**

 **Petal: Sadly... Anyway, we don't own Pokemon, Pinkari, Wobbo, Wobbo's gang, Super Saiyan mode, Natalie, Leon, Genevieve, Kara, Mithril, 700, Kaz, Nicholas, Adeline, or Dr. Poke!**

Lustrous rode through the newly-independent country on her dad's friend's Rapidash. Putting a megaphone to her mouth, she repeated the same message to every house. "The delinquents are coming! The delinquents are coming!" she screamed.

Unfortunately, the only 'houses' in the area were the dens of pokemon.

Anyway, back to the seriousness!

The Squirtle sprayed Lapis with water as he chased it around the house.

"GIT BACK HERE, YA LI'L MONSTER!" Lapis screamed.

Orange frowned confusedly. "When did it come back...?"

Adamant shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knows." He sipped a warm cup of Pinkan tea and stared out the window.

A Wobbuffet stared in the window, a wooden plank over its shoulder. Curiously enough, it had hair-straight, black, and with an impressive pair of hair antennas. It was wearing a collared white shirt and an unbuttoned black _gakuran_ (A/N: Many thanks to wikipedia and fanfiction for explaining this to me...), identifying it as a delinquent.

Pinkari immediately stood up, accidentally spilling his cup of tea in the process. "That's him! Wobbo!"

"The delinquent?!" Orange demanded, alarmed. He quickly drew Rusty and ran out the doorway. "Just leave this to me, old man Pinkari!" Orange shouted. "I'll beat him and protect your orchard!"

"No, wait! You won't stand a chance!" Pinkari called before going after him.

"Guess we better go too," Adamant murzled.

 _We now interrupt your regular program for a brief explanation!_

"Hello! Petal here! With my co-host, Copper!"

"We hath taketh it uponeth ourselves to becometh like Shakespeare!"

"Translation: 'We decided to make up a word.' We couldn't figure out a word that describes talking sleepily/lazily, so Copper came up with 'murzle'!"

 _We now return to your regularly programmed show!_

"In the name of friendship, food, and Darkrai!" Grisseo yelled before following Adamant.

"Awright! I'm comin ta help ya, Orange!" Lapis shouted.

"Zuuuurmp," agreed the Squirtle.

Pinkari frowned. "Do you truly intend to take on Wobbo-bancho with that rusty sword? Legendary or no, Firestar is as blunt as a butterknife right now."

Orange stared blankly. "Yeah. Besides, butterknives are sharp. Not-ninja trainees cut themselves all the time."

Pinkari decided he didn't want to know. "Be that as it may, you stand no chance against Wobbo," he declared.

"Well, why?!" Orange protested.

"You see, he is far, _far_ superior to you as you are now," Pinkari explained.

"Oh. That makes sense. But I still have to try!" Orange shouted before running off.

Lustrous (who had just returned from her impersonation of Paul Revere) stared blankly. "...Superior _how_?!" she demanded.

Lapis shrugged and stared at her quizzically. "Does it matter?"

"YES, IT DOES!" she screamed.

Pinkari sighed. "We have to go help. Wobbo is superior not only in strength and speed, but precision and tactics."

Lustrous looked alarmed. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" she yelped.

Orange was heedless of the chaos behind him. "Take this, Wobbo!" he yelled. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Wobbo held his ground, and unperturbed expression on his face.

Just as Orange's sword made contact, the boy was flung back, landing directly on top of the Squirtle. "What wuzzat?!" he mumbled, disoriented.

"That, young one, was Wobbuffet's Counter," Pinkari said gravely. "It reflects all physical damage. Don't try any special attacks, either; Mirror Coat reflects them."

"Aww, no way! So how do I beat him?" Orange complained.

"You could attack with both at the same time, but sparing two people to do that would open up access to the orchard from his other members." Pinkari gestured at the orchard, where Lapis, Lustrous, and Adamant were desperately fighting with their Pokemon against a Charizard, a Tyranitar, and a Garchomp. Grisseo was sacrificing tea to Darkrai.

"...How were you able to keep them at bay for so long?" Orange asked nervously.

"Like this."

Suddenly, all the pink in the orchard glowed brightly. The color slid off of everything pink and morphed into an assortment of swords, clubs, and staffs. The weapons immediately flew to engage other members of the gang in combat. A particularly heavy-looking club floated to the aid of Lustrous, Lapis, and Adamant.

His muscles straining to control the arsenal, Pinkari turned to Orange. "I can control pink. Now go! Help your friends! I'll hold Wobbo off!"

Orange shook his head. "No! I'll defeat Wobbo myself! If attacking doesn't work, Chu will just paralyze him!" He ran at Wobbo again.

"No! Wobbo has-"

Chu tried to zap Wobbo with the Elexecutor, but the Wobbuffet just glowed green and the electricity fizzled out.

"-Safeguard," Pinkari finished.

"Please tell me these things sooner," Orange groaned. He hefted Rusty again. "Chu! We're gonna do this all at once!"

"All at once?!" Pinkari gasped, alarmed. "You can't possibly mean that you and your Pichu are going to attack at the same time?! You could be electrocuted!"

"Thanks for the concern, gramps, but it's a risk I'm willing to take," Orange said with a grimace. "It's pretty much the only option left to me that I can think of." Chu nodded delightedly, rubbing the Elexecutor against his cheeks to get the maximum charge. Trainer and pokemon glanced at each other, nodded, and leaped into the fray, Orange screaming like a banshee and waving Rusty haphazardly, Chu squeaking in maniacal laughter and brandishing the Elexecutor. Wobbo tensed, preparing himself.

The three clashed.

Orange attacked first to get Wobbo's Counter up.

It didn't go up.

Instead, Wobbo jumped, higher than any Wobbuffet should be able to, and glowed red on the way down.

Orange and Chu collided with each other, resulting in the former getting electrocuted and the latter getting knocked out.

When Wobbo landed down, the impact bounced back from the ground blew away everything in a 10-foot radius.

Luckily (or perhaps unluckily), Orange and Chu both smashed into Tyranitar's head, distracting it long enough for the pink club to knock it out. Orange was also knocked out.

"This is just great," Lustrous groaned. "Our 'leader' has been knocked out, out electrocuter's also been knocked out, and the biggest threat is still standing."

"At least the Tyranitar's out," Adamant reasoned.

Wobbo was in shock. One of his trusted executives had been knocked out?! Okay, that's it, no more mister nice guy! "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOB!" he screamed. The hair on his head spiked up and turned a golden yellow color, and his eyes slowly opened to reveal pupil-less turquoise irises.

"SUPER SAIYAN?!" Lustrous demanded, outraged.

Lapis's and Adamant's eyes widened. "Woooooooooooooooooow..." they breathed. Adamant had always wanted to see a superhero in real life... The same applied to Lapis with Super Saiyans...

"Get your head checked! This guy isn't a superhero!" Lustrous snapped to her friend, whacking him with a convenient pink paper fan.

"But look! He transformed and now he's a gazillion times more powerful!" Adamant exclaimed excitedly.

And then, as Wobbo was about to decimate them...

 _Ding, dong! Ding, dong!_

Wobbo's eyes closed and his hair returned to normal. "Come on, guys, it's time for dinner."

With that, the delinquents left.

Our protagonists (or rather, the ones who were still conscious) stared blankly.

* * *

Natalie knocked on the door. "Yoo-hoo! Miss prisoner! Open up!" she hollered.

There was no answer.

"See?!" the girl huffed, turning to Leon. "She's holed herself in there and won't come out!"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Have you tried knocking down the door?"

"Yep," she said glumly. "Tried every flashy and destructive entrance I know. None of them worked."

Leon closed his eyes and frowned. This wasn't good. Natalie was _extremely_ good at destructive, flashy entrances. If even _she_ couldn't do it, there was something extremely wrong.

"What's going on?" Genevieve asked boredly, approaching them.

"Nothing!" Natalie said quickly, glaring at the other woman. "Nothing at all!"

Leon ignored her attempts to cover up the problem. "The door to the prisoner's room won't open."

Genevieve smirked. "What, so you can't open it, miss _evil minion of the month_? Hm?"

"Shut it, Genevieve," Natalie snapped. "This thing's seriously locked. Liked, _seriously_. No matter what I do, it won't open. Plant some explosives? They blew up in my face. Charge at it with my Zebstrika? We both got concussions. Ask our resident know-it-all about it? She's busy interrogating Mith about soap operas. In case you can't get the hint, Genevieve, _IT AIN'T OPENING NO MATTER WHAT WE DO_."

Genevieve rolled her eyes and tossed her hair. "Oh, please. One swing of Crystal Destroyer ought to put things to rights." Without further ado, she drew her scythe and chopped the door.

Nothing happened.

Natalie smirked. "You were saying?"

Genevieve glared at her. "Shut it."

Leon sighed and shook his head. "Couldn't we spy from out the window? We'll get wet, yes, but at least we'll know what she's doing."

Natalie's eyes lit up. "You know what? That's actually a pretty good idea! Let's do it!" she declared.

Genevieve snorted. "Leave me out of this," she hissed. "I'll just leave you idiots to your boring and stupid little adventure." Then she walked away.

Natalie blinked. "...What a stick in the mud. Anyway, Leon, have you got any rope?!" she demanded excitedly, wheeling around to face him.

He shook his head. "No, but there's some in the storage room."

"ALRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" she cheered. "LET'S DO THIS THING!"

Ten minutes later, Natalie was staring slack-jawed through the window.

Lyra was comfortably huddled under the blankets of her queen-size bed, a strange rectangular device in her hand and a pair of... something... in her ears.

"What the heck is _that_?" Natalie asked.

Leon shrugged and motioned for his companion to look at the door. Natalie turned to look.

Much to her consternation, there was a huge block of something that resembled cement that was shaped like a bunch of furniture. Lyra had likely piled up all the furniture except for the bed against the door, and Natalie could see a bit of black sticking out between the cement thing and the door, probably a ninja cloak.

"Seriously?!" she shrieked. Konton no Tochi's not-ninja squad had a secret and awesome way to make cloaks that could stand up to explosives that was so secret and awesome that no one else knew how. Seriously, it wasn't fair. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I'M TELLING KARA!"

Leon sighed. This was going to be a looooooooooooooooooong night... Wait, he smelled the porridge Natalie had made for the whole castle once... Ah. So _that_ was how the prisoner had gotten her hands on cement.

* * *

"KARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Natalie screamed, plowing down the wall. Lightning flashed dramatically behind her as rain poured in from the hole she created.

Kara glared at her. " _What_ do you think you're doing?!" she demanded. "Do you have any idea how much money it's going to take to fix that?!"

Natalie blinked. "Uhh... No. Anyway, listen, listen!" she shrieked. "The prisoner's barricaded herself in her room with a not-ninja cape and cement!"

"Cloak," Kara corrected her. "And that 'cement' is probably the porridge you made on Wednesday."

Natalie puffed her cheeks out in frustration. "That's not the point here! The point here is that we don't have any access to her! Do something about it!"

Kara sighed. "Have you tried the _window_?" she asked boredly, stating the most obvious thing. Honestly, these co-workers of hers...

Natalie blinked again. "Oh, uh..."

"I thought as much," the older grumbled. She directed a glare at Leon. "You. You're supposed to be more intelligent than that. Why didn't you suggest it to her?"

He shrugged, closing his eyes.

"RAINBOW ROCKET PENGUINS!" Mithril burst out randomly, tired of being ignored.

"Mith?!" Natalie demanded, startled. "When did you get here?!"

"I've _been_ here," the teen pointed out. "Kara's been consulting me with something. Isn't this great?! She trusts me now!" She giggled slightly maniacally, rubbing her hands. All three of the people she was recruiting for her evil empire were in the same room. Could life get any better? This was amazing!

"For Arceus' sake, child, stop that laughing," Kara interjected.

Mithril managed to (with some difficulty) cease her maniacal giggling. "Anyway, our first order of business is to track down Sparkers's crazy stalker. GO TEAM!" She fist-pumped.

Her declaration was met with mixed results.

Kara stared blankly.

Leon opened his eyes, rolled them, and closed them again.

Natalie's jaw dropped. "700's got a crazy stalker?!" she gasped.

Thus began the first mission of Mithril's evil empire

* * *

"HWAAAAACHOOOOOOOOO!"

The loud sneeze echoed throught the forest, releasing leaves from the trees and sending the birds flying away in a panic.

"Are you okay, Kaz?" Nicholas asked, popping up from the bush he had been napping in. A leaf clung to his hair next to his cowlick.

"Oh, just peachy," the woman grumbled. "It's not a cold, though. Someone must be talking about me." She'd gut them alive... Right after she tracked down her brother, of course.

"Okay. Then I'm going back to sleep," Nicholas yawned, dropping back down into the bush.

Kaz stomped over and grabbed her subordinate by the collar of his sweater, dragging him forcefully out of the foliage. "No, you're not," she snarled. "You're going to help me look for Benjen, who _you_ caused me to lose. The electrocution threat still stands, you know. Maybe I should rip out your eyeballs, too..."

"Please don't do that," Nicholas said, the sleepy look on his face not wavering. "That would hurt quite a lot, and Captain Silver would probably put you in suspension again."

"What Captain Silver doesn't know can't hurt him," Kaz said ominously. "I could just tell him that you got in an accident or that we got separated in battle..."

Nicholas wisely decided to shut up and start searching. But five minutes later...

"Hey... Kaz?"

"What."

"What does Benjen look like? My eyes were stinging, and I was half-asleep."

"..."

"Kaz?"

"...YOU DON'T NEED THOSE ARMS TO SEARCH... SURELY BREAKING JUST ONE OF THEM IS AN ACCEPTABLE WARNING..."

* * *

Silver was on the search for The Boss's hideout. Unfortunately, he had no idea where it was. So he headed to Rustboro City to consult one of the most reliable sources out there: Miss Doctor Professor Adeline Nurse, DC., DDS., DMD., DPT., ThD., PSYCH., PhD., ScD., SScD., MD.

When he finally reached Rustboro, he zippped to the well-known house of Miss Nurse and Dr. Poke. He stopped right outside the door.

Miss Nurse was notorious for not answering people for long periods of time, so he needed to enlist the help of her assistant, Dr. Poke. Unfortunately, _Dr. Poke_ was notorious for looking down on humans, so his chances of getting an answer weren't very high.

Suddenly, Silver had a brainwave!

Dr. Poke wants a boyfriend for Adeline.

Silver needs to recruit Orange on the way to find Lyra.

Lyra doesn't like Orange.

Convince Orange to be Adeline's boyfriend=everybody happy! Oh, Orange's opinion? Who cares about that? The only problem was finding the boy himself, but oh well!

 **Petal: Yay! Team Mithril is going on an adventure!**

 **Copper: Hey hey hey! Guess what Petal did!**

 **Petal: NOT ONE FREAKING WORD. I HAVEN'T HAD AMERICAN HISTORY IN A WHILE, OKAY. HISTORY'S ONE OF MY WORSE SUBJECTS, OKAY.**

 **Copper: She thought Paul Revere was John Hancock! You know that 'Paul Revere' up in the first segment? That was originally 'John Hancock'! XD**

 **Petal: SO I MIXED UP THE BIG SIGNATURE GUY WITH THE LOUDMOUTH GUY! SUE ME! Actually, don't. I don't have much money. Anyway, to fill my mostly empty wallet with happiness, please review!**


	9. Leon's Epic Battle Scene

**Petal: Sorry about the lack of update last week! Copper was on a field trip on Saturday and had to rest on Sunday!**

 **Copper: You called?**

 **Petal: Yep.**

 **Copper: Okee.**

 **Petal: ...So anyway! I've uploaded drawings for this chapter on deviantArt at amourpikamon . deviantart . com! We don't own Pokemon, Mithril, Kara, Leon, Natalie, DarkFlare, Greg, Tiki, Eleanor, Kaz, Nicholas, or Pinkari. All rights go to their respective owners.**

"So, Mithril."

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees?"

"We are in search of 700's disease trigger."

"No, we are in search of Sparkers's crazy obsessive stalker."

"That's the same thing."

"No, it's not."

"...I'm not even going to bother arguing."

"Of course not, because you're my minion!"

"...Sure. So. We have no idea where she is."

"Nope!"

"Nor what she looks like."

"Nope!"

"SO WE ARE JUST TREKKING THROUGH THE FOREST WITHOUT A CLUE AS TO WHERE WE'RE GOING?!" Kara exploded.

Mithril just blinked her large, round purple eyes at the woman innocently. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Kara facepalmed. "I can't believe I actually agreed to come with you."

"There needs to be at least two responsible chaperones," Leon reminded her with a regretful sigh, closing his eyes.

A foul-tempered silence fell upon the group as Kara didn't grace his reminder with a reply.

Not too long after, Natalie adjusted her hat and attempted to break the silence with a joke. "Why did the troubled woman go to the cobbler?"

"I don't know! Why!" Mithril exclaimed, latching onto the lifeline.

"Because he was a mender of _soles_! Get it, soles, souls?!" Natalie giggled crazily.

Kara stared at her, stone-faced. "I wouldn't have recommended for you to read Shakespeare if I had known it would just give you the oppurtunity for more bad jokes."

"Aww, Kara, don't be such a _downer_!" Natalie complained just as the other woman ducked underneath a branch.

"...I barely even got that one," Kara deadpanned.

Leon sighed as the two women began arguing. He reviewed the events that had just recently occurred. After Mithril's astonishing declaration, the girl had gone to ask The Boss for permission to leave-evidently, she was still scared of the man. Afterwards, she ordered Natalie to tack up two Rapidashes and two Zebstrika (the woman had an affinity for equine pokemon) and had hustled off, coming back not two minutes later with four travel packs, one of which he had recognized as his. He had no idea how she had packed for everyone (he suspected she had simply grabbed everything that looked important and stuffed it in haphazardly in twenty five seconds before rushing off to the next room-he was _not_ relishing the prospect of opening the bag later), but before he knew it, he was on the back of one of the Zebstrika with his thin black jacket as his only protection from the slightly chilly early spring air. He was still slightly disoriented from their abrupt departure, but now that he had inadvertently given the chance to organize his thoughts, he found the events of earlier comprehensible, even if he couldn't figure out why he hadn't yet turned around the Zebstrika. Wait, no, it was because his eyes were still closed and Mithril had gotten them hopelessly lost.

Opening his eyes, he saw that they had almost reached a village.

"Welcome back to the land of sight, Leon," Kara sniffed, obviously still irritated.

"Yeah," he muttered simply, not wishing to set her off. It would be exremely troublesome to fight her.

"Okay, so we're here incognito!" Mithril announced in a stage whisper, stopping the group near the edge of the trees. "For our cover story, Kara's the mom, Leon's the dad, and me and Nat are the daughters! I even bought costumes!"

Leon stared with mild surprise at the clothing she produced from her bag-they looked like they belonged to aristocracy. He'd had no idea she was getting paid that much.

Natalie spat on the ground. "You kiddin' me, Mith?! I'm not wearing a _dress_!" she exclaimed. "Whaddya think I am, some prissy princess wannabe?!"

Mithril grinned. "Every girl needs to primp her inner princess, Nat!" she chirped.

Natalie buried her face in her palm. "Mith, I love you and all, and you're craziness is one of the best things about you, but this is going too far. I might just disown you as a friend."

"Noooooooooooooo, don't do that!" Mithril whined. "I thought we'd be bestest buds forever!"

"EXCUSE ME."

Mithril blinked and turned around. "Yeah, Kara?"

"This plan isn't well thought out," the woman said impatiently. "For one thing, I am thirteen years older than Leon. For another, while you're young enough to pass as my daughter, Natalie isn't, and she and Leon are only two years apart. There's no way to make that work."

"But... But my plan!" Mithril said, upset. "I worked so hard on it!"

"I'm supposed to be the genius here," Kara snapped. "Leave all the thinking to me. I'm begging you."

"Okay, my evil genius minion!" Mithril cheered, immediately perking up. She sat back and started polishing her Rapidash's horn.

"Alright," Kara began, "we walk in like _normal travelers_. Leon, are you at all recognizable in this area?" He shook his head, though he had no idea where 'this area' was exactly. However, he had never operated this close to the base. "Good. Then we can walk around freely. We walk in, and we look for information about a psychotic woman possibly looking for a man with 700's description. Then we stay the night. It's well past dark, and we've been riding on extremely fast pokemon."

Leon frowned. He hadn't remembered to factor that in. Perhaps they weren't quite as close to the base as he thought...

"Everyone in agreement?" Kara asked, clapping her hands sharply to get their attention.

"Aye!" Natalie and Mithril chorused.

Then Mithril fell forward.

"Whoa, Mith?!" Natalie exclaimed, lurching forward on her Ponyta, Greg.

"Shnoooooooooooooooooooore..."

"She's asleep," Kara noted. "Well, I'm not carrying her. People will think I'm her mother."

"I'm not doing it either," Natalie declared. "I'm about to fall asleep too, and I think that set-up is _slightly_ dangerous."

 _'That leaves me,'_ Leon realized as both women turned to stare at him.

He sighed. "Fine, fine..."

Not too long after that, they got directions to the town inn (which also doubled as its bar). They quickly went there, left their mounts for Natalie to put in the stable, and entered the inn.

"I'm tired, so I'll be retiring now," Kara said after they paid the innkeeper, a woman with brown hair standing behind the bar. She had been dressed in a plain brown dress that was in rather messy condition and covered in scratches, dirt, and drink, but it was meticulously made. Odd.

"Good night," Leon said quietly as he brought Mithril to a two-person room. They had decided Mithril and Natalie would share a room (far more economical), and Leon and Kara would get their own rooms nearby. He gently set her down on one of the beds and removed her boots, placing them with her bag and swords at the foot of the bed. He removed her travel cloak as well and moved her into a more comfortable position before pulling the covers over her. "Good night," he murmured, giving the young teen a pat on the head in a surprisingly gentle manner for an evil villain's evil minion.

He left after that and sat at the bar.

"Whaddya want?" the innkeeper inquired.

"Fresh Water, if you have it," he muttered.

"Comin' right up." The woman dove under the counter, rustling around for what he had ordered.

He hadn't even had time to settle down to look broody before someone grabbed his shoulder and roughly jerked him around to face them. "You th' guy who messed up m'bro's face?!" a thick, heavyset man demanded.

A thick, heavyset man with a familiar face.

Leon shrugged indifferently, but he was running through all the people The Boss had sent him after in his head.

Unfortunately, he was interrupted once again, and by the same person.

"YA GOT M'BRO! DIE!" the unreasonable (and probably drunk) man screeched, throwing a punch.

Leon sighed, tilting his head to avoid the hit. He really didn't want to start a bar brawl.

Then the man tried to tackle him.

Leon jumped lightly from his seat, causing his new opponent to crash into the chair. The man staggered back up, one hand cradling his squashed nose. "Ya... Ya... Ya... GET 'IM, BOYS!" he howled.

As if they had practiced, a group of men not unlike the first man came roaring in in unison armed to the teeth. Leon closed his eyes and frowned. Seriously? Bringing his hands up to his shoulders, he drew the broadswords that rested in their sheaths. If he was reading their body language right-as well as the situation-he would need them. He hoped the innkeeper wouldn't kick him out, because then Kara really would kill him, and he'd prefer to be alive and on friendly terms with the only doctor in the group.

He brought his hands back down slowly, the swords gracefully moving with them to rest their points on the ground.

Then he snapped open two forest green eyes. "Let's get started."

The charged him at once, and he swept his swords at them. They tried to dodge, but there were more behind them, and they couldn't back up. His swords got them, and blood spurted. He tsked when he realized one had managed to clip his cheek with a prong of their pitchfork before going down. All the civilians quickly cleared out, casting fearful glances at the bar (or rather, the top of Sapphire's head as she _still_ continued to dig around for the Fresh Water) before going, though the more daring ones hid behind the bar, and the other guests screamed and headed up to their rooms. More idiots quickly charged in to avenge the first wave, but Leon parried their weapons with his own swords before ducking down and delivering swift kicks where it hurt. They staggered backward, clutching their injured parts. He smirked; this was too easy. Unfortunately, yet another wave joined the fray, and some of them even called out their pokemon-Pidgeys and Rattatas. There were too many of them, and it would soon get annoying.

Leon sighed and tugged off his boots, much to the surprise of the attackers. Throwing his swords into the air, he jumped and landed in a handstand, catching the swords between his toes in a well-practiced motion.

The attackers muttered amongst themselves. What was going on? Was this dude crazy? Oh well, his problem, not theirs.

Leon leaped at them lightning quick, legs whirling as he slashed with the swords held in his feet. He had trained for years to be able to pull these moves off properly while balancing on his hands, knowing that it would make him more dangerous. Windmilling blades tended to put off aggressors. One of the smarter ones figured he would go down if his arms were injured and approached at crawl, pitchfork positioned to strike.

Just as it was about to stab, Leon pulled the arm up out of harm's way and one of his legs shot out, the sword stabbing the man right through the chest.

DEFINITELY THEIR PROBLEM! DEFINITELY THEIR PROBLEM!

Leon's eyes darted around. They had backed off a bit for now, but he had no idea if one or both of the swords would get knocked out of his feet. The hilts were fit snugly between his first two toes, but the grip could never match that of his hands. A little backup would not be amiss, but Natalie was still in the stable, and he just couldn't spare any concentration on reaching for his Houndoom's pokeball. Perhaps this plan wasn't quite well thought out...

Suddenly, who should come bursting in dramatically through the front door with her rapier drawn astride a Ponyta but the woman herself, her braid flying behind her. Leon wondered how Greg had even fit, but quickly dismissed the thought. He had his backup. "Hiya, Leon! Sorry I'm late!" she yelled, surveying the room to take stock of the situation and catapulting over one of his opponents to land neatly beside him. "I hope I didn't miss anything!"

A corner of his mouth twitched in what might've been a faint smile, though she couldn't see it. "No, you're just in time."

"Good to know!" she grinned before turning back to their now slack-jawed opponents. "Alright, gents, let's go!" She started stabbing at them crazily, her mouth running as fast as her Ponyta. "Why're ya staring at us like that?! Sword got your tongue?!" _STAB_ right in one's mouth. "Ew. Who's up for swapping spit?" _STAB_ right in another's. "So, wanna know why I have a rapier?! Too bad, I'll tell you anyway! It was the the snazziest weapon in the shop and looked quite sharp and snappy! But if you give me some more clay, I'm not against a _claymore_! Get it?! Get it?!" _STAB STAB STABBITY STAB_.

Leon decided not to ask about the _STABBITY_. "Natalie. Cover for me. I need to call out DarkFlare."

"Aye aye, Captain Leon!" she yelled as Greg stampeded over another group of harrassers. "We'll need him! There are enemies as far as the eye can _sea_!"

Seconds later, the Houndoom was out and howling. Leon smirked. "NATALIE, DUCK!" he yelled. The girl hit the ground next to him, and he quickly performed a split before spinning in place, his hands, legs, and swords a blur as he gyrated. Several more of their enemies fell to the ground, deep gashes in their chests, and some of the Pidgey had backed off in fear of being de-taloned, de-winged, or worse.

By this time, most of the enemies had lost their nerve and fled.

"That was _fowl_ , Leon! You could've left some for me!" Natalie complained, rising and swinging up her left arm to block an attack with her gauntlet.

Leon rolled his eyes then judged it was time they could split up. "We're going off the defensive. Since there are less now, we both have more mobility. I'll take the guys on this side, you take the ones on that side. You up for it?"

"Up and away, man!" Natalie yelled, kicking the guy she was fighting in the face and hopping onto Greg's back again. "EULALIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Leon quickly turned back to his own opponents. They had decreased sharply in number, and he now had DarkFlare with him; he could afford to be more mobile. Leaping up again, he flipped like an acrobat, speedily traveling over to the nearest one with the length his body afforded him. He met the opponent in midair, cleaving the handle of the pitchfork with his sword-seriously, did they really think pitchforks and numbers would kill _him_?-and leaving a bloody slice in the man's face. He landed and spun his leg on the ground when DarkFlare barked loudly, slicing the leg of an opponent that was sneaking up behind him. The man's screams joined those of the one before him as he staggered off, a trail of blood wet on the floor.

Glancing back as he spun his legs again, Leon could see Tiki clinging to Natalie's hat (reinforced with rubber, fortunately) and tossing Electro Balls all over the place, its eyes squeezed shut as it trembled. ' _Gotta be careful of those_ ,' he noted as Darkflare leaped and Crunched another Pidgey's wing.

He continued laming his enemies, wincing as he remembered that he and Natalie had killed some earlier-that would definitely get them in trouble with the local authorities, something they really did not need.

"OI!" a furious voice roared suddenly. "WHAT IN DA NAME O' ARCEUS ARE YA PUNKS DOIN' TA MY BAR, HUH?!"

Everyone in the room swiveled to look at the innkeeper, her face flushed with anger, a glass of Fresh Water just barely surviving in her tensed hand. "PUT AWAY DA WEAPONS, LADY AN' GENNELMEN," she growled, glaring at them ominously, "OR I'LL PUT 'EM AWAY FOR YA."

The home team hastily threw down their pitchforks. "WE'RE SORRY, MATRON SAPPHIRE!" they chorused.

Leon raised an eyebrow as he sheathed his swords. He had heard that the housewives of this kingdom were fearsome, but he had had no idea quite _how_ fearsome. If this woman joined The Boss's minions, she would undoubtedly be the group leader within a week, regardless of Natalie, Mithril, and Genevieve's protests.

"But-" Natalie began to argue.

The woman-Sapphire-leveled her with a fearsome glare that seemed to just be _thirsting_ for the battle like Leon was thirsting for the Fresh Water she was still holding. "But _what_?" she snarled.

Natalie gulped and quickly sheathed her sword. "N-Nothing. I'll just... bring my Ponyta back to the stable..." She scurried outside, Greg in tow.

"Any of ya idiots attack 'er an' start another fight, ya deal wit' _me_ ," Sapphire snapped to those who remained of the original aggressors. They nodded frantically and quickly dragged themselves and their comrades out.

Leon quietly righted his seat at the bar and sat back down. Sapphire slammed the glass down in front of him. "Dis one's on da house," she assured him. "Yeah, I know ya killed some o' dem, but those were some nice moves ya had there, boy. Skill is respected in my house. Besides, dey attacked you first, an' I'd say ya did a pretty good job, 'specially considerin' ya were outnumbered."

Leon blinked and glanced down at the water. "...Is it poisoned?"

Sapphire looked offended. "No, ya li'l ingrate. It's a bribe, is what it is. You and dat friend o' yers're gonna help me clean up da bar."

Leon sighed. He'd known there was a catch...

* * *

"I missed all that?!" Mithril complained when Natalie related the whole story to her the next morning. "I didn't even get to use Sir Sharp the Third and Lady Deadly the Seventy-sixth!"

Leon sighed. Why she liked fighting, he'd never have any clue... "Ow!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Sit still," Kara said severely, ferociously attacking his wounds with a puff of cotton and ointment. "You called that a first aid job? It was just a bunch of bandages slapped onto your injuries. You're lucky they never got past nicks and scratches, because I'd be asleep and you'd be dead."

"Hey, at least we washed them out!" Natalie protested, having gone through the same treatment just minutes prior. "So it won't get infected! Besides, your washed out old ointments are nothing compared to some good rest!"

Kara rolled her eyes. "Useless idiots," she muttered. "And Leon, I seem to recall you shaking your head no when I asked if you were known in this area."

Leon winced. "There was only that one man. I really have never been here."

"That one man and his army," she muttered.

"Aw, don't be so hard on da fella," the Sapphire chided, bringing over four large plates heaped with flapjacks, bacon, and eggs. "He was awesome last night-better'n any fighter I've seen around these parts fer a long time... Or at least da best fighting I've seen for a long time." She shot a glare towards the door before turning back to the group. "Him and da girl both. Ya shoulda seen her, too- _STAB STAB STABBITY STAB_ an' BAM da guy's down!"

"You should not condone violence in your bar," Kara deadpanned.

Sapphire shrugged. "I dunno, bar brawls make life less boring. I've participated in quite a few m'self, but listen here," she glared at Leon and Natalie, "no swords should be drawn in dis establishment."

"Yes'm..." Natalie mumbled while Leon nodded. "Well, enough about that. Have you seen or heard of an obsessive stalker woman? She might've been looking for a guy who's twenty-two with black hair, green eyes, maybe an awesome-looking brown trench coat..."

Sapphire shrugged. "There's a lotta people matchin' dat description, but I do know one of 'em-she's a co-worker of my son in the castle. She's in da not-ninja squad an' goes by Kaz."

"WE HAVE A LEAD!" Mithril whooped, pumping her fists in the air. "Do you know if she's still in the castle?!"

Sapphire shook her head. "Nope."

Mithril immediately drooped. "Useless old lady..."

After giving Mithril a large lump on her head, Sapphire suggested that they travel to the castle anyway and look for Kaz there, and if she was on a mission, get a lead.

The four minions exchanged glances. The castle? Hoo boy...

* * *

A girl raced through the forest, leaping from tree to tree, her black pigtails streaming behind her. Her dark apparel helped her blend in with the shadows that the canopy of leaves created for her, but she knew it wasn't necessary at the moment... unless a certain senior ninja was in a bad mood. She couldn't believe that they had left while she was on a mission. True, unless they were assigned to team up on missions, ninja had no need to know what was going on with each other, but still... Friendship was important!

She continued scanning the forest floor when suddenly, a knife came flying at her. She just barely managed to dodge, the blade nicking off a few strands of her hair. She was immediately alert, cyan eyes darting around to find the source as she pulled out her own knives.

"Oh, it's just you, Eleanor! I should've known it was you the second I heard you coming! You're very special, after all; you make a unique tromping noise when you go for stealth!" a cheerful voice said.

The pig-tailed girl managed to pinpoint the location of her attacker with the sound. "Kaz?" she called suspiciously.

"Of course it's me. Nicholas's here, too."

"Hey, Eleanor."

Eleanor Blaze, intermediate level ninja, decided it was safe and dropped to the ground. "Hello, Kaz, Nicholas," she said with a grin, relieved. "I'm glad I finally caught up to you!"

"So am I," Kaz said, her smile unwavering. "Now I can actually disguise all your boisterous noise. Good job."

"Thanks!" Eleanor exclaimed blithely. "So... Why did you two leave so quickly?" Then she noticed the makeshift sling Nicholas's left arm was in. "...And Nicholas is in a cast?! Why?! How?!"

"Kaz did it," he murzled, propping himself up against a tree.

"Not like I had a choice. You were being useless," the woman giggled. "So stop complaining before I break the other arm."

He stopped complaining, alright. He fell asleep, a nose bubble inflating and deflating in time to his breaths.

Eleanor frowned. "You... broke his arm?"

"It was a clean break. It'll heal," Kaz said dismissively. "I wouldn't want my traveling companion to be completely useless, after all."

"Okay! You're right! I'm sure he'll get better!" Eleanor cheered, back to one hundred percent optimism. How she managed to keep that happy personality after being subjected to Silver's gruesome training course (which included running on only so many hours of rest), the world shall never know.

"Anyway! Why are you here?" Kaz asked. "You didn't have to force yourself to come; we could have operated better without you."

Eleanor turned around. "And I'm sure you could," she said, the 'better' going straight over her head, "but it's always good to have some help. Besides, my vacation's starting soon! I was hoping we could all do something as a group! And so, even if you're going to spend your vacation on hunting down that guy you're always trying to stalk, I'm going with you!" She turned back around to face the other woman, hands clasped behind her back and a grin across her face.

Kaz decided not to mention that she in fact _wasn't_ on vacation but had just decided to slip away during the confusion. "I suppose so. Just remember that if we're in a life-threatening situation, I'll need a meat shield!"

"Okay! I'll purchase some meat at the next town, pack it with preservatives and disinfectant, and mold it into a shield!" Eleanor chirped, misunderstanding.

Kaz also decided not to explain what a meat shield was. It was best not to explain to the cannon fodder its purpose and scare it off.

Nicholas just continued sleeping.

* * *

Silver knocked on the door. "Hello? Is Dr. Poke home?" he called.

He was rewarded by a Slowpoke pushing the door open. "Finally, someone has the sense to call for me rather than Mother Nurse," the Pokemon grumbled.

* * *

"Did dey jus'... leave? In da middle uvva fight?" Lapis asked, staring ahead vacantly.

Lustrous was drawing circles in the ground. "Yeah, we were totally outclassed. We couldn't do a thing to them."

"That aside, Pinkari's doughnuts are really good. You should try one," Adamant advised.

Orange just sat dejectedly, muttering incomprehensibly to himself. Still, he took a doughnut. Once he ate it, he immediately perked back up. "Hey, these really are good!" he exclaimed.

"Really?" Lapis moped, picking one up. Sinking his fangs into it, he, too, perked up. "Hey, dis really is good!"

"You're prolly just exaggerating," Lustrous sighed, flopping over and chomping down on the one in Adamant's hand. Suddenly, her hair horn stood straight up. "Wow, it really is good!" she gasped.

The three ex-mopers went on a half hour eating spree of devouring the doughnuts in a feeding frenzy.

"Guys?" Orange said around his sixty-seventh doughnut. "I feel funny..."

Lapis sniffed the air. "Smell funny, too."

"Probably all those doughnuts," reasoned Lustrous.

They all turned to each other.

"OH MY ARCEUS AND ALL DEITIES ABOVE! YOU'RE PINK!" They hollered at each other.

Adamant took the opportunity to finish the last doughnut.

 **Petal: Copper says, "I am too lazy to say anything for this end note. My apologies." Yes, he actually said it when he said he was too lazy to. Ah well. Please review.**


	10. PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK

**Petal: And here we are with chapter ten! Yay!**

 **Copper: Don't Swannaaaaaaa...**

 **Petal: ... Ignore him, please. We don't own Pokemon, Pinkari, Genevieve, 700, Leon, Kara, Mithril, Natalie, Greg, Kaz, Dr. Poke, Adelaide, Kaz, Eleanor, Nicholas, or the escape lesson. That was taken from chapter thirteen of Oresama Teacher, written and illustrated by Izumi Tsubaki.**

 _They all turned to each other._

 _"OH MY ARCEUS AND ALL DEITIES ABOVE! YOU'RE PINK!" They hollered at each other._

 _Adamant took the opportunity to finish the last doughnut._

Suddenly, Grisseo dashed in, tears streaming down his face. "GUYS! I WAS EATING SOME PINKAN BERRY DOUGHNUTS AND TURNED PINK! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" he wailed.

"AAAAAAAAAH! I'M PINK! I'M PINK! I'M PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINK!" Orange was crying.

"NO! PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT PINK! I DON'T WANNA BE A DECORATION IN AMY'S ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Lapis sobbed. Who's Amy, you ask? She's Lapis's younger sister who's basically the ultimate girly girl. Moving on!

"NO! MY TREASURED BLONDE HORN IS PINK! GIVE IT BACK, GIVE IT BACK, GIVE IT BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" Lustrous shrieked.

"I finished the doughnuts," Adamant pointed out.

Nobody cared as they sank further into their hysterics.

Pinkari walked in. "What seems to be the matter?" he asked.

Adamant turned to face him. "We turned pink, and now they're freaking out," he explained.

Pinkari tilted his head. "Did you eat the doughnuts? I inscribed very clear warnings in icing about the risks of eating them."

Note to all would-be Pinkan Berry doughnut makers: Icing is often licked off immediately. Do NOT inscribe warnings in it!

Suddenly, the four waterworks noticed Pinkari. "YOU! **TURN US BACK!** " they screamed as one.

Pinkari put his hands up. "I can't. You either wait for it to wear off which, considering how much you've eaten, could take months, or go find the Staff of Shadows to restore yourselves."

"STAFF OF SHADOWS?! WHAT'S THE STAFF OF SHADOWS?!" Lustrous demanded as she knocked Grisseo out-he had been poking fun at her horn.

"The Staff of Shadows," Pikari began, "is a pitch-black staff created by Darkrai from the shadows of a thousand moonless nights. It was created in the year -500 million, or so records by ancient Pokemon say. It has fallen into a long sleep and only awakens on moonless nights. The new moon just happens to be in a week."

"So where is it? And will it really turn us back?" Orange asked.

Pinkari nodded sagely. "Yes, it will negate the pink light reflecting off of you. As for the location... nobody knows."

Lustrous groaned in frustration. "So we have a week to find something that's in an unknown location. Great."

Lapis joined in. "And it's made by Darkrai, so it's prolly in a chasm o' darkness or somethin'."

"Yeah... Made by Darkrai," Orange echoed.

Suddenly, all four conscious members of Orange's party turned to face Grisseo, who was knocked out.

They exchanged slightly disbelieving glances.

Then Lustrous, ever the spitfire, grabbed him by his red scarf thingy and started shaking him violently. "WAKE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" she screamed despite being the one to knock him out in the first place. "WE NEED YOU, MISTER DARKRAI FREAK!"

Suddenly, his eyes flew open. "DARKRAI?!" he demanded, flying forward until he was nose to nose with her, his eyes sparkling with joy. "DID YOU JUST SAY DARKRAI?!"

She jabbed the taller figure with her hair horn. "PERSONAL SPACE!" she hollered at him.

Before the situation could evolve into a full-fledged fight, complete with a shouted insult contest, Orange interrupted, "Grisseo! Can we ask you something?!"

Grisseo blinked. "Does it have anything to do with Darkrai?"

"Uh, yeah," Lapis replied. "Do ya know anythin' 'bout a 'Staff of Shadows'?"

Grisseo nodded. "Why, of course! It is, after all, one of the most famous Darkrai relics in the world! As a matter of fact, I have the genuine article!" He stuck a hand in his scarf, rustled around it for a bit, and then pulled out a staff caked with dirt and dust. The entire group stared at it.

Chu tentatively poked at it. His paw went all the way in. The Pichu made a face of disgust as he recoiled, cradling his soiled paw. "Chu chu pi!" he shrieked, scrabbling back over Orange's shoulder.

Orange sweatdropped. "I could be wrong, but I think that means 'get that thing away from me'..."

Lustrous gaped at the hole Chu's paw had made in the grime. "If it does, I don't blame him..."

"So what did you want this for?" Grisseo asked, ignoring the fact that they were insulting his Darkrai-made staff.

"It kin turn us back from bein' pink!" Lapis burst out.

Grisseo gasped, stared at Lapis, looked down at the staff, looked back up at Lapis, looked back down at the staff... Then he raised it high in the air and screamed, "STAFF OF DARKRAI, TURN US BACK!"

Nothing happened. A draft passed through the room, taking a dried up leaf with it.

Pinkari shook his head. "This won't do. The staff only awakens on moonless nights, as I said before. Also, it's far, far too dirty to work."

Orange and Lapis immediately wrenched the staff out of Grisseo's hands and dunked it in a conveniently placed bucket of soapy water and started scrubbing.

"No amount of cleaning will cleanse _that_ ," Lustrous sighed when it came out as dirty as it was when it was put in-not to mention the fact that what little had been scraped off had muddied the water. They all wondered how it was even possible for something to be so filthy.

Pinkari shook his head again. "You might be able to cleanse it if you travel to the pond at the top of Mount Silver. It contains mystic water that might be up to the impossible task."

Grisseo stared. "What do you mean it's dirty? I take better care of it than I do my hair!"

The companions' heads all swiveled to Grisseo's hat. What horrors could possibly exist underneath it?

The boy blinked uncomprehendingly. "...Why are you all staring at me?"

They immediately turned their heads away, reluctant to answer.

"Anyway," Pinkari coughed, "you'd best rest up and get going. You youngsters have a long journey ahead of you." A proverbial lightbulb lit up above his head. "Ah! I know! It isn't much, but I could sharpen your weapons for you. There are many bandits living on Mount Silver."

Their eyes all lit up. "Really?! Thanks!" they cheered simultaneously.

Orange handed him Rusty. "Ol' Rusty hasn't been sharp in all the time I've had him," he explained. "Thanks for doing this."

Pinkari stared at the rusty old sword. "I'm afraid this is the only weapon I can't sharpen for you," he said regretfully. "There's only one thing that can restore Firestar."

"And what's that?" Orange asked in confusion.

"Firestar is the weapon of fire, crafted by Ho-oh from the flames of a thousand suns," Adamant recited suddenly. "Like the Staff of Shadows, Firestar is one of the legendary weapons that the legendary pokemon have blessed and is alternatively known as the Sword of Flames."

Pinkari nodded. "Precisely. And the only thing that can restore the weapon as well as the gem is the magma of the volcano Mount Chimney."

"Someone's going to have to explain all these legendary weapons to me one of these days," Orange sighed heavily.

Lustrous raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "But aren't you a bard? The legends are sung of in ballads."

Orange shrugged. "I don't know any songs involving them. I mostly sing heroic epics of recent battles or songs of my own composition..."

"That explains why you're so unpopular," Lustrous sighed.

"No, it doesn't! My songs are great!" Orange defended. "Here, I'll sing one for y- JO'S MISSING!" He immediately looked around panickedly for his beloved instrument. His eyes soon fell on Lapis, who was clutching it tightly and holding a dagger to its strings.

"No way, man," the brunette growled. "I've heard yer 'music,' an' I'm tellin' ya right now- _if ya dare play anythin', yer precious banjo's life is forfeit_."

Orange fell to the ground. "No... Jo..." he murmured, his eyes filled with pain. "JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! SHALT THOU NEVER SINGETH THY BEAUTIFUL NOTES EVER AGAINETH?!"

"I don't think so!" Grisseo declared, lunging at Lapis to save Jo. "Don't you remember that Darkrai approved of his music?!"

"I WASN'T HERE FER DAT!" Lapis yelled, tossing it over the Darkrai boy's head to Lustrous. "PASS!"

Lustrous made an impressive jump to receive the instrument. "I GOT IT!"

Unfortunately, Orange was immediately upon her. "GIVE JOSEPHINIUS BACK!" he screeched, rage and adrenaline fueling him with extra strength. Lustrous released a little yelp and, taking advantage of their height differences, ducked underneath his legs and charged out the door.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE MY POOR EARS ALIVE!" she screamed.

He sped after her. "GET BACK HEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!"

Lapis and Grisseo also bolted out of the house, racing to catch up with their respective sides and shooting glares at each other the whole time. Grisseo had somehow managed to retrieve his staff and was jabbing it at Lapis who skillfully dodged the strikes like the epic ninja he was.

Adamant, being the only sensible one, walked over to Pinkari, got directions for both Mount Silver and Mount Chimney (as well as some Pinkan berry pies-they were already pink; what harm could more Pinkan berry delicacies do?), gathered up their travel packs, recollected Rusty, and set off after his comrades. How he managed to carry everything remains a mystery...

Pinkari smiled as he watched the group disappear in the distance. "Ah, youth," he said with a contented smile. "Maybe I should take on an apprentice one of these days, if only to have an enthusiastic young'un to brighten the place up a bit..."

"So you're passing the torch, old man?" a voice sneered coldly. "Good. Who knows when you'll croak."

Pinkari looked up, the amiable expression on his face unwavering. "Hello, Genevieve," he greeted.

The young woman sitting on a Rapidash in front of him snorted. "Hi."

He then turned to her companion, a man dressed in the dull brown clothes of an ordinary peasant traveler, blending into the monotony of the area, unlike Genevieve, who always insisted on wearing her conspicuous red and black outfit. "Hello, 700."

"Hello," 700 said flatly, as unemotional as always. "But Genevieve is correct. If you die, we will lose our best weaponsmith."

Pinkari nodded. "True, true. Please, would you like to come in and sit down? I have a kettle of Pinkan berry tea prepared."

Genevieve snorted again, and 700 shook his head. "No," he declined. "We are simply here to have Crystal Destruction reinforced."

"Oh? What brought this on?" Pinkari asked curiously.

700 opened his mouth to speak, but Genevieve quickly cut in, "That is _none_ of your business, old man. Just do it, we pay you, and we'll be on our way."

Pinkari shrugged. "If you insist. You young folk are always in such a hurry, just like that last bunch..."

"'Last bunch'?" 700 inquired. The Boss would definitely like to know who was visiting The Organization's unofficial weaponsmith.

Pinkari nodded. "Yes, indeed, a group of youngsters a few years younger than you."

By this time, 700 had a notepad and a piece of charcoal out. "What were they doing here? Where did they go?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly why they were here, but they seemed to be looking for me," Pinkari explained. "I believe, however, that they wished to know how to restore their leader's sword. They were headed off in that direction," he pointed the way, "but their destination is Mount Silver. Why do you ask?"

"I am merely adding to The Database," 700 informed him, jotting down what he had just been told. "Why are they going to Mount Silver?"

"For the Staff of Shadows."

Genevieve and 700 stared at him. Then they glanced at each other. Then they stared down at him. Then they turned their Rapidashes around and gallopped back the way they had come.

The Boss would surely be pleased to hear about this.

Pinkari blinked in confusion. "...Well. I never even reinforced her scythe."

* * *

Leon blinked his eyes open.

He looked around.

He frowned.

He remembered what had just happened.

He sighed.

Around him were his comrades, all of them tied up. Kara had her hands and feet tied together behind her back. Mithril basically looked like a rope caterpillar and was hanging upside down from a tree branch-it was a wonder her head hadn't yet exploded from all the blood rushing into it. Natalie was bound from her shoulders to her waist, her hands purple from lack of circulation and therefore relatively useless. Leon himself had his hands and feet bound, and there was another rope tying his arms to his sides. All their weapons and pokeballs were in a little pile farther away from them, and their steeds were fast asleep. Glancing around again, he realized that Natalie was in heated glaring contest with a musclebound, bearded man with an eyepatch who didn't look as if he completely understood personal hygiene. She was also suspended right side up from a pole stuck in the ground. Allowing his eyes to travel up the pole, Leon saw a red flag with a crudely stitched thumb embroidered on it.

"WE'VE BEEN CAPTURED BY THE TERRIFYING THUMBS-UP BANDITS!" Mithril gasped out helpfully. "ALSO, LIONS!"

Leon frowned. "Don't push yourself to speak until you get down from there," he called up to her. Her face was a very lovely shade of fuschia, and there was sweat dripping down it... or was it up, since she was hanging upside-down? In any case, he highly doubted speaking in such a condition was very good for her health.

He then recalled what had transpired to get them into this situation.

 _Team Mithril hadn't been riding for very long when a bunch of bandits (many of them with their nostrils plugged with wax) leaped out of the bushes. "You th' guy who messed up m'bros' faces?!" demanded the one in the lead, a hairy hulk of a man with flies and a stench accompanying him._

 _Team Mithril then proceeded to cover their noses with sanitized handkerchiefs that Kara distributed._

 _"YA GOT M'BROS! DIE!" roared the lead bandit, charging them with his forces without even waiting for Leon (the only guy) to respond._

 _"Another one?!" Kara demanded in frustration, referring to the group of townsmen from the night before._

 _"How many brothers are in this family?!" Natalie complained._

 _"Does it matter?!" Mithril squealed gleefully. "I finally get to use Sir Sharp the Third and Lady Deadly the Seventy-sixth!"_

 _Unfortunately, none of them were even given the chance to draw their weapons, for a wild Gloom walked by spreading Sleep Powder in such a thick cloud that it penetrated the handkerchiefs._

Leon muttered a curse. The wax in the nostrils of the bandits must have kept them from inhaling the powder, and their freakishly large lung capacity gave them an extra advantage of holding their breaths. Thus, he and his comrades had been captured.

"It's about time you woke up," Kara muttered to him. "Plan S or Plan T?"

"PLAN T! PLAN T!" Mithril mouthed from up in the tree. Unfortunately, no one could see her mouth move from their vantage point.

"Plan S," Leon whispered back. They'd best get to the bottom of this.

Kara sighed. "Very well. But this position is _very_ uncomfortable and if I don't get my hands separated from my feet soon, you get no mercy when it's time for your flu shots, understand?"

Leon nodded and turned back to the bandit boss, who was still having a glaring contest with Natalie.

He frowned as he watched. Why did neither of them make a move? Natalie hadn't even spit in the man's face. He glanced at Kara, the silent question in his eyes.

She rolled her eyes. "It appears he has a little crush on her and wants her to be his bride. As you can see, she is very much opposed to this idea."

Leon turned back and squinted. Come to think of it, there was a light dusting of pink on the bandit man's face, and his menacing glare looked more like a lovestruck gaze...

Nothing had changed in his view of Natalie, though. She was still glaring defiantly, all her muscles tensed.

Leon coughed to get the bandit's attention.

The man reluctantly tore his gaze away from Natalie and turned to face Leon. "Wut?!" he demanded gruffly. Yes, wut. Not what. Wut.

"Why are you doing this?" Leon asked.

"You messed up m'li'l bros' faces!" the bandit roared. "M'precious li'l bros! They're all I have left in th'cruel, cruel world! 'Side from m'crew, o'course." He gestured to the bandits milling around a makeshift camp.

Well, at least they'd only have the bandits to contend with if they killed the last brother.

"And y'killed summa m'crew!" the bandit continued.

Leon frowned. They must have been the mini-army in the bar. "Why were they there?" Leon asked. "They looked like regular townsfolk."

The bandit puffed his chest out proudly. "I had 'em infiltrate th'town a few months back t'see if it was ripe for th'picking! If they'da had their real weapons, they'da never lost!"

Aaaaaaaand that explained why Matron Sapphire hadn't seemed particularly affected by the deaths despite the fact that the men lived in her town. It probably didn't help that the bandit job description required a nasty personality.

"THAT'S THE DUMBEST IDEA I'VE EVER HEARD!" Natalie hollered from where she was swinging in the breeze, still completely tense.

"WHATEVER YOU SAY, MY DEAREST DARLING NATA-BOO-BOO-POOKIE-PIE!" the bandit hollered back.

Leon could tell it was taking all his friend's willpower to keep from splattering the contents of her stomach on the ground right then and there.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE NAT! NEVER! SHE'S A PART OF _MY_ EVIL EMPIRE, NOT YOURS!" Mithril screamed, or at least she would have if she could get anything above a bare whisper out of her mouth.

As for Kara, she was staring at the bandit in disgust. This was even worse than Queen Crystal's son's behavior towards the daughter of Captain Silver...

Leon sighed. "You made two mistakes," he said, addressing the bandit boss. "The first was attacking us."

The bandit boss took his gaze from Nata-boo-boo-pookie-pie for a few seconds to glare at Leon. "Well, we caught you and tied you up. What are you gonna do about it?"

Leon smirked. "The second... was assuming that I'm bound."

"...Huh?" came the bandit's intelligent reply.

Leon kicked him in the face.

 _Time for Kara's rope escape lesson special!_

"Hello, boys and girls. Should you ever be captured, you must at all costs avoid being efficiently tied up. If your hands are being tied together, act as if you are struggling and keep your wrists away from each other using your fists. This creates a gap. If the enemy is using a vertical tie, hold the rope with your thumbs to keep it from winding too tightly across the horizontal tie. If they catch on, make it look normal by ceasing your struggle and keeping the base of your thumbs together and your pinkies separate. For the vertical tie, keep the base of your palms together. After a bit of rubbing and shifting, you should be able to create a large enough gap to escape. If they are tying up the rest of your body, hold your breath and keep your muscles tensed. When you relax, you should be able to slip right out. What's more, sweat can act as a lubricant. Of course, if you are knocked out or the enemy knows all the tricks, then this is pointless."

 _End of the lesson! Thanks for watching!_

"B-But how?!" the bandit boss spluttered once Leon withdrew his shoe. "Y'were unconcious!"

"Oh, that would be my doing," Kara said calmly, already unbound and standing. "You see, Leon has trained his body to take measures against being tied up even when he is unconcious. By studying the way his brain and body acted to trigger this, I was able to create a drug for the rest of us that has the same effect."

Mithril shot down from her cocoon of rope, literally going head-to-head with the bandit boss. Leon swiftly dragged her out of the way before diving into the fray with his martial arts. Kara just snatched a scimitar from one of the bandits and used it to create a path to her own weapon.

After gulping down some much needed air and getting the blood pumping properly again, Mithril charged into the fray with a tree branch. "YOU'LL NEVER GET ANY OF MY MINIONS! EVER!" she screamed, flailing it around wildly.

 _BOOM_.

Natalie smirked as she stood epically a safe distance away from the small explosion behind her, her braid flying from the force of the explosion. Her body was relaxed, but it quickly tensed up again. "No one calls me 'dearest darling Nata-boo-boo-pookie-pie' and gets away with it," she hissed. Then she whistled sharply.

Greg immediately perked up, his ears twitching alertly.

"SIC 'IM, GREG!" she yelled.

The Ponyta obeyed the order gleefully, charging at the bandit boss.

Unfortuantely, he got the wrong 'him'.

"NATALIE, CONTROL YOUR PONYTA!" Leon called, somersaulting over the rampant pokemon.

"SORRY!" she yelled back. "GREG! THE BEARDED ONE!"

Greg snorted and charged again at full gallop.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the bandit boss wailed as he was sent flying into the distance. "MY DEAREST DARLING NATA-BOO-BOO-POOKIE-PIE! I WILL NEVER FORGET YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Natalie made a face. "And I'll never forget you, but not for so pleasant a reason," she muttered, spitting on the ground.

"You're bothered by the nickname," Kara observed.

"N-No I'm not!" the younger woman protested.

Leon sighed. Couldn't they fight later? They had to take down the bandits...

"BOSS!" The bandits started crowding around Natalie. "You took down the old boss, so now you're the boss! Three cheers for the boss! YAY! YAY! YAY!"

"Low intelligence lifeforms," Kara deadpanned.

Mithril waved around her swords, which she had just retrieved. "OH, COME ON! WHEN DO I GET ANY ACTION?!"

The quartet returned to a collision course with the castle.

* * *

"So do we have a deal?" Silver asked, holding out an official-looking paper with the royal seal on it.

"Yes, I believe this will be beneficial for everybody," Dr. Poke agreed, stamping his footprint on the paper.

"Now, we just have to find Orange..."

Silver laughed creepily. Dr. Poke just shook his head at the human's behavior.

Adeline just continued reading her book about how to perform a brain surgery using a five-year-old's playset.

* * *

"Kaz? Why are we here?" Eleanor asked as she and Nicholas followed the senior ninja into an inn.

"To get information, of course," Kaz explained. "Isn't it obvious? Bars are the best place for info."

"Oh!" Eleanor exclaimed. "That makes sense!"

"Welcome," greeted the innkeeper, a woman who very much resembled another one of the intermediate ninja, Lapis-Lazuli.

"Hello," Kaz said politely. "I'm _so_ terribly sorry to bother you, but would you happen to know where I can find a man who's twenty-two with black hair, green eyes, and perhaps an awesome-looking brown trench coat..."

The innkeeper blinked. "...No, but dere's a group o' folks lookin' for a psychotic woman lookin' fer a guy matching that description."

"Well then, it can't be Kaz!" Eleanor declared. "She isn't psychotic! She's a really nice person! Right, Nicholas?!"

Unfortunately, Nicholas had fallen asleep in the middle of a bar brawl over in the corner and thus couldn't back her up.

Kaz patted her on the head like she would a loyal puppy. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Eleanor. You're so loyal and innocent and naive."

"No problem!" the younger chirped brightly.

"Now..." Kaz leaned over the counter. "Tell me, do you have any idea where I might find these people?"

Sapphire frowned suspiciously. "Why? Ya gonna do somethin' to 'em?"

"Heavens, no!" Kaz said, placing a hand over heart with a hurt look. "I merely wish to speak with them!"

Sapphire continued to frowned but in the end shrugged. "A'right. 'S none o' my business anyway. I sent 'em off ta da castle."

Kaz's lips quivered as she kept her smile from turning into a smirk. "Thank you for the information, ma'am." She turned on her heel. "Eleanor, Nicholas-let's go."

"Okay!" Eleanor exclaimed, tossing a knife through her friend's baggy sweater and pulling on the rope she had attached to it, dragging him out of the fray. Oddly enough, he was unharmed.

Before they left, though, she made sure to purchase three meat shields.

Kaz warned her not to let them get smelly.

* * *

Over in The Boss's secret base, Lyra had finally put away her PokePad and earphones (ninja technology was quite impressive; unfortunately, they all thought the messenger Pidoves were too cute and quaint to get rid of, so they for whatever reason decided not to use the technology literally at their fingertips) and scraped the cement-er, _porridge_ , off of the door. She had seen all of The Minions leave, and The Boss was out as well, so she might as well find some salt to hoard and an extra change of more sensible clothing so she could rip up the wedding dress and use it as a rope... Not to mention it gave her the chance to have some screen time.

Unfortunately, when she arrived at the kitchen, there was no salt to be found. She turned the place upside down and sideways, but not a single grain of sodium chloride fell to the ground.

"Great," she muttered. "Absolutely fabulous. _Now_ how am I going to get rid of those wretched sl-"

"Wretched whats, my dear?" a voice whispered in her ear.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she screamed to psyche herself up as she swung her high-heeled foot at whatever was behind her.

The Boss ducked under her foot and started laughing. Snickering? Cackling? Whatever. "You should have seen your face! Here, I brought a mirror."

"...Why?" she asked suspiciously, squelching the urge to attack him again (she wasn't sure she could take him, and she was _not_ suicidal) as well as ask when he had returned. Seriously, how had she not heard the door opening?

"I didn't come through the door, you see. Look up," he said, as if reading her mind.

Still slightly confuzzled, she glanced up.

There was a giant hole.

"...Oh." Darn. She'd forgotten to reinforce the ceiling after that incident involving Natalie, some of Kara's newly developed explosives, and a faulty parachute... But that still didn't explain how she hadn't heard it.

"The ceiling is made of soundproof materials," The Boss explained, seeming to read her mind again.

 _'That's not how soundproofing works!'_ she wanted to scream.

"I know, but _this_ is The Hideout!"

"...Just come out and say it already," Lyra grumped. "Can you read my mind or what? And you still haven't answered my first question."

"Oh no, it's just that it's written all over your face!" The Boss said merrily.

Lyra returned that with a deadpan, thinking ' _Answer my first question already!'_

"Ah, right! Really, kids today are just so hasty!"

"AHA!" Lyra screamed. "I had a blank look! One that is _impossible_ even for the most skilled ninja to read!"

The Boss's expression turned sinister. "But _I_ am no mere _ninja_..."

Then, a bell rang.

"Oh! Some of my minions are here!" he said, face returning to normal. "Gotta go greet them. Toodles!"

With that, he left.

Lyra was torn between trembling in fear as was expected and going back to looking for salt.

* * *

"The king dies today!" an assassin cried as he threw a dagger at Gold's neck. The crown's white gemstone pulsed light through the room, and all the weapons on the assassin's person dropped to the floor, too rusted now to ever be used again. The queen immediately kicked him into unconciousness and tied him up.

"Throne service? Bring me some pickles!" Gold said on the phone, completely oblivious to the attempt on his life.

 **Petal: Welp. That's the end of that.**

 **Copper: Guh... Don't Swanna do these...**

 **Petal: One, that was a really lame pun worthy of Natalie, and two, we're going to do these end notes for every chapter whether you like it or not. Please leave a review!**


	11. Just When They Finally Met

**Copper: Chapter...**

 **Petal: ...staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart... -_-**

 **Copper: That's not what you're supposed to say! I say 'Chapter' and you say 'Eleven'! Much angry face!**

 **Petal: Much uninspired face... I just don't feel the writing mood... Never thought I'd be the one to say that instead of you. I blame my bio homework.**

 **Copper: Whatever. Let's start the chapter with a boom! Natalie, that's your cue!**

 **Natalie: *busts out of random coffin* I'M GONNA MAKE A CA-COFFIN-Y! Get it, coffin, cacophany?! :D**

 **Copper: The :D doesn't work with Times New Roman! Try better next time!**

 **Petal: Alright, this beginning note is getting long. And I feel proud. :D ...It still doesn't work with Times New Roman. Anyway, we don't own Pokemon, Genevieve, 700, A Certain Scientific Railgun, Adeline, Dr. Poke, Natalie, Kara, Leon, Kaz, Eleanor, or Nicholas.**

"Ah, Genevieve, 700! _So_ good to see you!" The Boss greeted them. "Did you get your weapons reinforced?"

"...Now that I think about it, no," Genevieve muttered. "But we have obtained what we believe is vital information for The Organization."

"What is it?" The Boss asked eagerly. "Is it the king's pickle recipe? I have been wanting to get my hands on that for so _very_ long."

Even 700 had a look of bafflement on his face.

"Why would you want _that_?!" demanded Lyra, who had followed after putting the ransacked salt containers away.

700 regained his composure. "No, it's the location of the Staff of Shadows."

"The Staff of Shadows? That is vital information indeed!" The Boss exclaimed. "Where is it?"

Genevieve spoke up again. "It's in the possession of a group of kids. They're headed toward Mt. Silver."

The Boss's nostrils flared. "Hm! Mt. Silver, you say? Very good. You and 700 are pardoned of past failures."

Genevieve frowned. 700 maintained his deadpan expression. Neither could recall failing a mission before. The Boss had already had words with 700-as long as the target was dead, the mission was a success no matter who the killer was (so long as any needed items were retrieved, of course).

"And Genevieve, you are pardoned for eating 700's cookies."

Genevieve refrained from mentioning that it was The Boss who had given her the slapjack.

"You two stay behind and guard The Hideout. The prisoner has been wilting lately, so methinks she needs watering and long walks." The Boss patted the confuzzled not-ninja on the head, causing her small cowlick to flap. Then he grabbed her around the waist like she was a sack of potatoes and began to levitate. "Now, come along, little plant pet. Don't take candy from strangers!" The last was directed at his minions, and with those words of parting, he flew out the hole in the kitchen ceiling, Lyra flailing and screaming as she attempted to fight her way out of his grip. And yes, she is still wearing a wedding dress. Luckily, she had taken a cue from Mikoto Misaka and wore shorts at all times.

700 saluted as he watched his employer fly away with his epic cloak cape thing. Genevieve just huffed, muttering about how she would _never_ accept candy from strangers. What did he think she was, a kid? And speaking of kids... she was slightly worried about what he would do to those kids who had the Staff of Shadows... Curse it all, why did she still have that soft spot for children?! It was unbecoming of an assassin to have any mercy at all!

700 watched the various expressions displayed across his co-worker's face and wondered if she was broken.

"Genevieve... I know a blacksmith who lives across town. I'm sure he could fix you up."

Five seconds later, he was reeling backwards with a stinging red mark on his face, the silver-haired girl stomping off in a huff. Odd, that amount of force should have been nothing to him... Wait, perhaps this was what Mithril had explained before about not getting a woman angry...

* * *

"PUT ME DOWN!" Lyra screamed, wind whipping in her face. She spit out a lock of her hair that had ended up in her mouth. She really needed to tie it up...

"Come, come. Surely you know that plant pets such as yourself need sunlight and water to make their own food," The Boss reminded.

"I'm _not_ a plant pet," she spat, peeved. "I'm a _human being_ , in case you haven't noticed."

"Yes, I know. Why can't human beings be plant pets? Besides, you were wilting," he pointed out.

Lyra managed to turn her head despite the force of the wind and gaped up at him, utterly baffled. "What do you mean, _wilting_?! I'm perfectly fine!"

"Well, you know. You were holed up and didn't like people talking to you." He shrugged. "I had a plant once when I was a boy, and that's what it did before it wilted and died!"

Lyra frowned. Was he always this stupid, or was it just a front to hide how powerful he really was? Sometimes, she just couldn't tell...

"I'm not stupid! It really did that, even tried to eat my hand! I must admit, you're quite pleasant compared to my old Venus Flytrap."

Before Lyra could retort, The Boss pointed to a lake. "Hey, look, a lake! Time for your watering!" He dropped Lyra from two hundred feet up, and she screamed murder the whole way down.

Now, normally people aren't supposed to survive if thrown into water from that high up. However, Lyra was a ninja. She channeled her aura into her feet, ballooning the energy into a sort of bouncy landing pad. She bounced well enough. Now at a safer falling height, she inhaled a large breath and landed in the water.

"I knew she would go into the water willingly! She needs it to make her own food, after all!" The Boss declared triumphantly.

And so he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And then got bored and wandered off.

Sensing the malignant presence getting far enough away, Lyra finally dared to swim to the surface. She gulped in large breaths of fresh air-breathing through a bamboo tube just didn't give as much air as breathing naturally. She forced her way out of the tangle of water plants growing around her and clambered out of the lake. Hm? Where did she get the bamboo tube, you ask? Well, she hid a bunch of important equipment into a pouch attached to a leg garter. And speaking of that equipment, she quickly pulled out a knife (polished and sharpened to perfection, as it had to have been, considering all the time she had had lazing about in the tower before The Minions had introduced her to their Game Nights) and hacked off most of the skirt of her dress. She grinned in satisfaction; she _hated_ wearing it. With nothing more to hold her back, the sopping wet kunoichi pulled out a compass that always pointed to the special gem set in the king's crown. As the crown was never allowed to leave the castle (Queen Crystal was _quite_ strict about that), the compass was pointing her way home. Sparing not another moment, she zoomed off, stuffing the ridiculously high heels she had been forced to wear into her pouch as she went.

Suddenly, she was back in the air, having been recaptured by The Boss.

"Ah, good," The Boss said, "I was worried that you had forgotten that you also need sunlight to survive! I see you're also eager to get to Mt. Silver, but you're going the wrong way. We're headed over there!"

Sometimes, Lyra just wanted to crawl into a little hole, sob, and die.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Running away from poisonous snakes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Running away from an angry flock of Spearow.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Running away from a stampede of Tauros.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Running away from angry farmers screaming Grisseo's name in rage.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Running away from angry villagers whom Orange had played for.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Running away from banjo players who were insulted by Orange's lack of skill.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Running away from hungry carnivorous beasts.

"Hey, guys!" Orange shouted breathlessly as they continued to flee from the hungry carnivorous beasts. "Anyone else notice that pretty much all we've done recently is run away?! Aren't we supposed to be the heroes?! And we can take these guys!"

Grisseo shook his head. "The hungry carnivorous beasts are behind you."

Orange set his jaw. "I'm fighting them! Rusty won't lose to them!" He whirled around and started bludgeoning the black-furred beasts with the blunt rusty sword. One snuck up behind him and ate Rusty as Orange raised it for an overhead strike.

Without skipping a beat, the fledgling hero pulled Jo off his back and slammed the instrument into the monster's stomach, causing it to regurgitate Rusty.

"...Ew," the boy gagged, seeing the digusting gunk covering his favorite (not to mention only) sword. "Chu? Can you electrocute that... _stuff_... off Rusty?"

Chu nodded, saluting, and used Thundershock on the sword, zapping the... _stuff_... off Rusty. Well, not exactly. It deep-fried the... _stuff_... into ashes, which then fell off.

Orange flailed Jo recklessly behind him-he believed the instrument unbreakable-as he leaped to grab the sword. He tumbled over in a roll before landing back on his feet and jabbing another of the hungry carnivorous beasties in the stomach with considerable force, causing it to stumble backwards.

"This isn't working, _O Powerful Leader_!" Lustrous shouted at him.

His traveling companions were doing an admirable job of holding their own. Lustrous was slapping monsters left and right with her paper fan, Grisseo was hitting them with the Staff, Adamant was slashing at the monsters with one of his knives, and Lapis was tossing shuriken willy-nilly (and narrowly missing his own allies-what kind of well-trained ninja was he?). Unfortunately, that would only work for so long. As Adamant and Lapis had discovered, the monsters' furs were matted and tough, making them difficult to penetrate. The sharp pointy weapons were only serving to aggravate them. Lustrous and Grisseo were managing to stun them, but they didn't stay down for very long.

"...Okay, maybe I should've thought this out better," Orange admitted, ducking under a swinging paw that would definitely have hurt if it had connected with his head. "But I've lived this long, haven't I?" And then Orange showed exactly _how_ he managed to be a hero without a proper sword.

"Chu!" he called. "THUNDERWAVE!"

The Pichu nodded and unleashed the wave of electricity at their enemies (and unfortunately their allies as well). Then it jumped from monster to monster, expertly jabbing its needle into the joints that would force their mouths to open. Then it was a simple matter of stabbing one of Lapis's kunai through their mouths and into their brains.

"...Well, that was gruesome," Lustrous said once she had finished screaming at Orange for paralyzing her.

He sighed. "Life can't all be rainbows and Rapidash..."

"But those were pokemons' lives lost!" she argued.

"Actually," Adamant interrupted, "they weren't pokemon. They're incapable of advanced sentience like pokemon are and act solely on instinct-hunt, eat, drive out intruders from territory, et cetera. It's like slaughtering livestock."

Lustrous would have continued to argue, but she ate meat.

"Anyway," Orange coughed, interrupting the rather tense atmosphere with his heroic awkwardness. "Now you know how I've gotten by as a hero."

Lustrous nodded in understanding. "Yup. Your partner compensates for your incompetence."

Orange facevaulted.

Adamant started to clean off his knives-wouldn't want the bacteria from the creatures' furs to get in the food.

Lapis collected his shuriken.

Grisseo urged them all to keep going so they could restore the Staff of Shadows (and turn themselves back into their normal colors).

* * *

Silver sat. And he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited some more, unlike The Boss.

At last, his patience was rewarded.

Adeline finally finished her book. Closing the large tome with _THWUMP_ , she looked up and noticed the other redhead. "Dr. Poke, who is this?" she asked.

"He is Captain Silver of the castle's not-ninja squad, Mother Nurse," the Slowpoke informed her, handing her a cup of instant noodles and chopsticks. "Please eat."

Adeline slurped up a mouthful of noodles and swallowed, barely wasting any time to masticate. "Hello, Captain Silver," she said pleasantly. "How may I assist you?"

"I'm looking for information," the shinobi explained.

Adeline smiled. A quest for knowledge? That was always good. She liked it when people asked her questions; it left the world a little more informed every time. "And may I inquire as to what that information is?"

"The location of The Boss's hideout, also known as The Hideout."

"The Hideout, hm...?" the girl murmured, perusing her memory. "I believe someone I helped mentioned it once... Two girls... Hm... Yes, they told me where it is."

Silver's heart soared. "They did?!"

Adeline nodded. "Yes. Dr. Poke, please bring me a map."

The pokemon hustled off to a particular pile of books, dug through it, and returned with a large map in his paws. "Here it is, Mother Nurse. And please, _do_ eat more."

"Thank you," she said with a nod, directing him to place it on the table as she took another mouthful of the noodles. Then she rustled through her lab coat's pockets until she came up with a marker that she used to circle a specific spot on the map. "The Hideout is located there. It has a number of traps, but I assume that, as a ninja, you will be able to deal with them with ease?" At Silver's nod, the teen passed him the map. "Very well, then. I wish you luck on your journey. Please feel free to visit again at anytime if you have other questions."

He folded the map, tucked it in his cloak's inner pocket, and stood. "Thank you for your time and assistance, Miss Nurse. I will be going now." They nodded a polite farewell to each other (and Dr. Poke held up the contract non-too-subtly), and the ninja captain departed.

* * *

Orange shuddered suddenly. "Why do I get the feeling Captain Silver has found another way to try to get me away from Turquoise?" he wondered.

Lapis shrugged. "How should I know?"

* * *

And so all the groups continued their journeys.

* * *

"The _heck_ is _that_ ," Natalie said disgustedly, staring at the meal Kara had prepared for them.

"A nutritious blend of herbs and dried jerky, now be grateful that I'm looking out for your health and _eat_ ," the woman said crossly.

Leon gave Mithril a barely perceptible nod, and the genius chef slipped her own special ingredients in the meal while the actual chef was distracted in an attempt to lessen the grossness of the food.

* * *

"What's that smell?" Kaz wondered.

Eleanor giggled nervously. "That... might be the meat shields. I guess the disinfectant didn't do it's job well enough..."

The two women were silent for a minute. Then they had to dash off to save Nicholas from the angry Swanna whose nest he had fallen asleep in. Eleanor wondered why he was there in the first place... Also, why was Kaz still smiling?

* * *

Silver arrived at The Hideout. Avoiding all the traps, he stealthily made his way to the top...

...And found two people who were decidedly _not_ The Boss. One was a little younger than 20 and the other seemed to be in his mid-twenties. Good stance. Probably experienced fighters.

But not good enough. Though both were holding their own (he made a mental note to watch out for the older one-he was older and more experienced than his comrade, and his skills marked him as someone to be cautious of), Silver had gauged their power knew they wouldn't be able to defeat him. Both were weaker than him, not to mention they weren't doing the best of jobs of working together-the older of the two was attempting to work with the other, but she ignored those attempts and recklessly attacked with no strategy whatsoever, and she would have hit her own ally multiple times had he not dodged. Silver could defeat them, but it would take too much time. He needed to get past them, and quickly.

He came to a decision and pulled out some cleverly disguised sleeping potion from his pouch.

"Candy?" he offered.

For some reason, their eyes twitched and Genevieve walked up to the nearest wall and bashed her head against it.

* * *

The Boss caught Lyra's arm.

The girl blinked. "Drat. I was so sure you were asleep. You exhibited no signs of wakefulness and didn't even react when I faked my escape." She tried to maneuver the knife in her hand to at least hit _something_ , but then The Boss put a sheath over it. Lyra wondered where he had gotten one on such short notice... unless he was prepared? Tch. She should've expected as much...

"I can't believe I forgot that sharp objects are dangerous around plants _and_ pets, making them even more dangerous around plant pets. Come, we must rid you of all sharp objects!" The Boss declared. Then he picked her up by her ankles and shook her violently, causing all her knives, shuriken, a katana (how'd that even fit?!), summoning scrolls, smoke bombs, stink bombs, rations, nets, rope, poison, sleeping potions, tranquilizer darts, and PokePad to clatter to the ground. Lyra gasped in horror as she watched the screen crack.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she howled. "MY POKEPAD! HOW COULD YOU! I GOT IT A SPECIAL DISCOUNT SALE; IT'S 500000 POKE EVERYWHERE ELSE!"

"Oh my," The Boss sighed. "What would a plant pet like you be doing carrying all this dangerous stuff around? Especially that rectangular object; we don't know what it could do!" He proceeded to pull out a hammer and smash the PokePad to smithereens.

* * *

 _Lyra very nearly lost her soul that night. It was only thanks to The Boss's quick thinking and a butterfly net that his beloved plant pet survived._

* * *

"...Where are we?" Orange asked blankly.

Lapis had an equally blank look. "...No idea."

"...It sure is cold," Lustrous muttered.

Adamant took a sip of hot cocoa.

Grisseo was powering their electric fire. They just put him on a treadmill, set it to maximum, and told him there was a Darkrai.

"I've been running for so loong... Surely I'm close... Where are you?"

The wind of the mountaintop merely continued to howl.

* * *

Eleanor eagerly participated in a knife-throwing event. Kaz and Nicholas decided to join in as well, though less enthusiastically.

All three tied for first place-they were ninja, after all, so the village's target range was a piece of cake-but the grand prize was not what they were expecting.

"Plushie!" Eleanor squealed, hugging the Phanpy doll tightly.

"Pillow," Nicholas murzled, accepting a Togekiss doll.

Kaz smiled cheerily at the Skitty doll that was presented to her. "How cute."

Then she pulled out a knife, still smiling. "Throw in a free ride to the castle, while you're at it, or I'll mutilate you in front of your children." Then she slashed the Skitty's stomach, and stuffing flew everywhere.

The mayor yelped and called for a carriage. The fearful villagers brought her another plushie to replace the first.

* * *

Mithril grinned, jumping up and down excitedly. They were almost at the castle! WHEEEEEEEEEE! How great was that?! They'd finally be able to track down Sparkers's stalker!

Suddenly, "OH NOES!" she burst out. In front of her group was a trail of stuffing. "Let us bid farewell to the dear stuffed toy or furniture that gave its life for this path," she sobbed, paying her respects.

Natalie sighed, bit her tongue to squelch the joke fighting to exit, and bowed her head solemnly. Leon closed his eyes and shook his head. Kara rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go," the eldest of their group said impatiently. "We may as well get this over with. Come on."

Ooh, a squirrel!

* * *

"Guess who's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" a cheerful voice sang.

"Kaz!" exclaimed one ninja. "Nicholas and Eleanor, too! Welcome back, all of you!"

"It's good to be back," Kaz responded with a smile. "Maybe now there'll be some order around here."

"Look what we got!" Eleanor announced. "We won an event in a village we passed on the way here, and we got plushies!" She held up a Phanpy plushie. A few of the other ninja ooh-ed and ahh-ed before some other comrades whacked them on the head and scolded them for being childish.

"SENIOR KAZ!" A boy of fourteen charged into the training ground, his wavy black hair flying behind him. "HellowelcomebackdidyoufindAssistantCaptainLyra?!"

"Calm down, there, Will," Eleanor interrupted, lightly karate-chopping his head. "We can't understand you."

"DID YOU FIND ASSISTANT CAPTAIN LYRA?!" the boy, now identifiable as Will, burst out once more.

"Nope," Nicholas murzled bluntly, propping his head on top of the younger boy's and promptly falling asleep.

"Oh..." he mumbled sadly. "That's odd. I was so sure that after ten chapters, she'd finally be rescued."

"I'm sure she's fine," Eleanor comforted him. "And please stop breaking the fourth wall."

Kaz, in the meantime, was taking a much more businesslike approach in conversation. "Have their been any new travelers in the castle?" she asked.

"None, ma'am," a junior ninja informed her with a shake of his head. "All's been quiet. Can I ask why you're asking that?"

"You can," Kaz said, beaming, "but you won't, because it's my business, not yours."

"I suppose..."

 _BOOM_.

"That broken wall's going to cost us," Kara sighed.

"It would, but we're the bad guys," Natalie reminded her. "Which is good, because we're lacking in _sense_. Get it, sense, cents?!"

Mithril clapped excitedly. "That was a good joke, Nat! OOOOOOH, PRETTY SPARKLES IN THE SMOKE! HOW'D YOU DO THAT!"

Leon shook his head and got straight to the point. "Are any of you looking for a man by the name of 700?"

"If we are, why should we tell you?" Kaz responded. 700? That was one of Benjen's aliases... "Unless you know where he is, in which case," she was mere inches from him, a dagger tickling his throat, "you'd better tell me _right now_."

Leon took several rapid steps back. She was fast. Faster than him. That wasn't good. Speed wasn't everything in a fight, but it was certainly a lot. This woman was dangerous.

Mithril gasped dramatically. "So you _are_ Sparkers's stalker! You have a pretty kimono-"

Natalie elbowed her younger friend. "Priorities, Mith!"

"...Right! THOU SHALT BE PUNISHED, MORTAL! NO ONE MESSES WITH A FRIEND OF MITHRIL, THE EVIL MASTERMIND!"

However, the epic fight that was certain to happen was unfortunately interrupted by an idiot carried down from the sky.

In other words, Prince Ethan's parachute was malfunctioning and he was screaming at the top of his lungs.

* * *

 _Twenty minutes earlier..._

Ethan wandered into his mother's study. "Where is she...?" he mumbled. "I gotta tell her Dad's low on pickles..." Looking around, he noticed a map on the desk, a slip of parchment on top of it. Approaching it, he saw the familiar, plain handwriting of Captain Silver. _'Lyra is at coordinates XX, XX. Heading there now.'_

Ethan picked up the map, a rather idiotic plan formulating in his mind.

Not too long after that, he ransacked the castle for traveling supplies and a parachute, and then zoomed to his sister's bedchamber.

"TOP'! TOPAZ!" he yelled slamming the door open.

"DIE, INTRUDER!" A pillow slammed into his face. He quickly pulled it off.

"SIS! IT'S ME! IT'S ME!"

Topaz paused, her dagger still in position to strike. "...Huh?" was her frazzled response. Her brother handed her a bottle of the not-ninja squad's special energy potion, a concoction infused with lots an lots of glucose as well as fizzy bubbly things. She took a sip. "Thanks, li'l bro. Now, what the heck is so important that you have to ruin my beauty sleep?"

The golden-eyed boy grinned from ear to ear. He had been waiting for her to ask. "I KNOW WHERE LYRA IS!"

Topaz stared at him for a moment. Then she groaned. "Oh, _please_ don't tell me that you're planning on going there."

"Fine," he said, shrugging. "I won't. Just cover for me, okay? I'm going to sneak out through the window with this parachute, and I want you to stall for me for as long as you can!" Without further ado, the prince of Konton no Tochi and the king of idiots (well, no, he was still a prince... His _father_ was the true king) leaped out the window.

Topaz stared. She yawned. She scratched her head. She went back to sleep.

* * *

 _Present time_

"WAAAAAAAGLUBLOMPF!" Ethan shouted as he smashed into the ground. No one had made a move to stop him.

"OW! You guys are the worst; I'm the prince, you know?"

Then he noticed the not not-ninjas staring dumbfoundedly at him.

"I was not aware that 'WAAAAAAAGLUBLOMPF' was a sound that human vocal cords can make," Kara commented.

No one had time to say anything else, because a giant tornado came, picked up Kaz, Eleanor, Nicholas, Will, Kara, Natalie, Leon, Mithril, and Ethan, and left.

* * *

"'Ey Lustrous... Is dat a funnel cloud headin' toward us?" Lapis asked.

"Oh, it is... ...IT IS! EVERYBODY RUN!" Lustrous screeched. Unfortunately, their feet were frozen to the ground.

Except for Grisseo, who thought that the tornado was Darkrai making a flashy entrance.

Nevertheless, it came, and the ice didn't stand a chance.

When it passed, not even the treadmill was left.

* * *

Thundurus gulped. "You've done it this time, Tornadus... I'm outta here!" He fled.

"HEY! OUR BATTLE!" Tornadus screamed. "AND DON'T YOU DARE PIN ALL THE BLAME ON ME!"

Landorus arrived. "I HAVE ARRIVED!" he boomed. "NOW, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?!"

Tornadus paled. "Uhhh... You saw Thundurus fleeing, right? We were, uh, battling to decide the, er, master of all storms... And I, uh, won... Yeah... That's it... You aren't buying this, are you..."

Landorus deadpanned.

"I'M SORRYYYYYYYYYY!"

 **Petal: So sorry it took so long...**

 **Copper: Ditto.**

 **Petal: Heh. We should use ditto as a joke for Natalie somechapter.**

 **Copper: Ditto.**

 **Petal: ...Are you just gonna keep saying ditto?**

 **Copper: Ditto.**

 **Petal: Hmm... Chihiro x Haku forever! *waits expectantly***

 **Copper: Ottid.**

 **Petal: What does that even mean... Anyway, please review!**

 **Copper: Dittoroni.**


	12. The Almost-War With the Merfolk

**Petal: As Copper did a lot of work this chapter (beginning segment, end segment, banana segment), he does not feel obliged to join in the beginning note. Jeez... Anyway, we don't own Pokemon, Eleanor, Kara, Kaz, Leon, Mithril, Natalie, Nicholas, Will, or 700.**

And so the hero bard and his companions, a group of not-ninja, and Team Mithril were abducted by the tornado that Tornadus _totally_ didn't throw at them by accident.

"So what shall we do, Lord Arceus?" Landorus asked, holding up the very sorry Tornadus up by his tail. "Since this buffoon caught up several groups of humans in his tornado..."

"I'M SORRYYYYYYYYY!" wailed Tornadus.

"Hmmmmmmmmm..." regal Arceus pondered regally. "Indeed, what _shall_ we do..."

"Er, why not just put them back into their same groups in the same exact places?" Tornadus suggested hopefully.

"No way. Don't think that we'll listen to the idiot who made this mess in the first place," Landorus replied, shaking Tornadus a little more. Actually, he had been considering that exact idea, but now that Tornadus had voiced it, Landorus realized what a stupid idea it was. "Lord Arceus?"

Arceus's regal stomach growled regally. "Full stomachs may provide insight that we, thoughts clouded with hunger, cannot imagine." Then he regally summoned regal cookies that floated regally in front of the Legendaries.

"That's actually a good idea, Lord Arceus," Landorus agreed, helping himself to a few. He swatted Tornadus's reaching arms away from the cookies.

Arceus regally ate a few cookies and made a regal yet satisfied sound once they were safely tucked inside his regal stomach. "I see..."

Both Tornadus and Landorus gasped. "So you have come to a realization, Lord Arceus?!"

Arceus nodded regally. "Mmm. Landorus, there were nine cookies, correct?"

"Yes, Lord Arceus!" Landorus nodded.

"And there are three Legendaries present," Arceus continued regally. "Assuming the cookies were distributed evenly, each Legendary would have the same number of cookies: three.''

"I understand!" exclaimed Landorus. "So you are saying that we should assign them all numbers and use a Random Number Generator to put them in groups of three!"

"But the cookies weren't divided evenly," Tornadus pointed out. "And only fourteen people were captured in m- er, the tornado that had _absolutely nothing to do with me_!"

"Quiet, you," snarled Landorus, shaking Tornadus a little harder. "We'll have five groups of three if we _want_ to."

Arceus nodded. "You are correct. Let's just toss in a random Riolu." He summoned a banana- er, a shiny Riolu, and tossed her into the tornado as well.

"Now that _that's_ handled... Would Tornadus object to living in a room full of perfume for the next hundred years?"

"NO! PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT _THAT_! IT'LL TAKE THE NEXT MILLENNIUM TO WASH THE SMELL OUT AT THE END!"

* * *

The Boss was behind schedule. According to his schedule (OR IS IT A SCRIPT?! O.o), he was supposed to throw Lyra into a tornado at precisely Chapter 11. But it was already Chapter 12! He had to find a tornado, and quick! Then he saw a convenient funnel cloud nearing him.

"Ah, perfect timing! Come, plant pet, you have an appointment!" Then he picked Lyra up and chucked her into the tornado.

At least now she knew why her horoscope had said 'Beware strong winds.'

* * *

"Hey, Lord Arceus... A human was just thrown into the tornado. Now they won't be five teams of three. Arceus? Hello? Don't tell me Jirachi's challenged you to a sleep-off again..." Landorus sighed, tossed Tornadus into his prison chamber, and floated over to Mewtwo's for an aspirin.

* * *

The passengers of the tornado screamed. They screamed very much. They screamed very loudly.

"MY DOUGHNUTS!" Adamant screamed.

"KAZ! NICHOLAS! WILL!" Eleanor screamed.

"LYRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Ethan screamed.

"DARKRAI, SAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Grisseo screamed.

"THIS WASN'T IN THE WEATHER REPORT!" Kara screamed.

"I'LL HUNT DOWN WHOEVER SENT THIS TORNADO TO HINDER MY SEARCH AND RIP IT LIMB FROM LIMB!" Kaz screamed

* * *

For some reason, Tornadus shuddered in fear.

* * *

"LY, DAT YOU?!" Lapis screamed, spotting the missing assistant captain.

"GAH!" Leon screamed, having been taken by surprise by the tornado.

"WHOEVER SENT THIS TORNADO IS BEING FINED ONE MILLION!" Lustrous screamed.

"WHY DID HE EVEN KIDNAP ME IN THE FIRST PLACE IF HE WAS JUST GONNA THROW ME IN A TORNADO?!" Lyra screamed.

"JET STREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAM!" Mithril screamed.

"I'M BLOWN AWAY BY HOW POWERFUL THESE WINDS ARE!" Natalie screamed.

"MY COWLICK IS BEING EVEN MORE MUSSED UP!" Nicholas screamed, fully awake for once. His eyes were wide open, surprising Eleanor, Lapis, and Will quite a lot.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Orange screamed, going back to the basics.

"ASSISTANT CAPTAIN LYRA?!" Will screamed.

Unfortunately, the wind roared so loudly in their ears that none of them could hear each other.

Then they collectively blacked out as something yellow appeared out of nowhere and thwacked into their heads, _hard_.

* * *

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh..." Orange blinked his eyes open. "Is it over yet...?" Taking in the blue sky above him, the soft grass underneath him, and the trees nearby, he deduced that yes, it was.

Then he rolled over and threw up.

"I never wanna go through that again," he sighed, wiping his mouth. "I wonder where everyone else is...? Chu...?"

The little electric mouse shrugged, hopping up to perch on his shoulder. "Pichu chu."

Orange sighed again. "You're right, we should look for them. Come on!" And with that, he tromped off.

Chu frowned. That wasn't what he said. He'd told Orange (in Pichu speech, of course) that he was hungry and wanted something to eat. Idiotic humans, none of them ever understood what he was saying...

"Gwah!" Orange exclaimed suddenly as he tripped, causing Chu to fall off his shoulder. "What-?" He stumbled forward, managing to catch himself, and turned back to see what he had tripped over. "...A guy?"

Lying propped against a tree was a man with dirty blonde hair who didn't seem that many years older than himself. However, Orange didn't pay too much attention to him.

His focus was on the twin broadswords strapped to the man's back.

"Whooooooooooooooooooooooa..." he breathed, cautiously approaching. "They're so cool... Not as cool as Rusty, of course, but still... Wow..." In his stupidity, he even reached out to touch the swords (honestly, hadn't his parents ever taught him not to touch a stranger's sword?!), but a hand shot out to grab his wrist, and a pair of dark green eyes snapped open.

"Who are you?" the previously asleep (or so it had seemed) man asked hostilely.

Orange was suddenly aware that he had been about to touch a stranger's swords (why, oh _why_ hadn't he listened to his parents' warnings better as a child?!) and, more importantly, was in a forest with Chu, Rusty, and Jo as his only comrades. "Er... I'm Orange, the hero bard," he said awkwardly. "Eh... Nice to meet you? I'm sorry for trying to touch your swords without permission... My body just kind of... acted on its own..."

The man continued to glare at him, eyes narrowed in suspicious slits.

"Oh, good, you're awake," said another voice, this one female. Orange glanced in the direction the voice was coming from and saw a woman with blue hair, glasses, and a lab coat. She looked oddly familiar, perhaps someone he had encountered in the castle as a child...

"Do I know you?" he asked, turning his head fully to face her.

"No," she said dismissively. "And who are you?"

"Orange, the hero bard!" he announced proudly. "Nice to meet you."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," she said distractedly. "For heaven's _sake_ , Leon, let the boy go! We have nothing to gain by threatening children!" Orange felt slightly put out at being called a child. Sure, he was undoubtedly a child in her eyes (she looked about the same age as Queen Crystal), but still-he was a warrior! He wasn't a minor anymore! He could go on any ride at the amusement parks without the park manager having to worry about pressed charges if he died on the ride (for you see, they hadn't the safety measures we do), he was allowed to walk into bars unaccompanied (though, he really should go with someone else one day-maybe they could shield him from the rotting fruit and there wouldn't be a repeat of the fruit slash incident), and most importantly, HE WAS SELF-SUFFICIENT! THAT'S RIGHT! HE COULD PROVIDE FOOD FOR HIMSELF! Granted, it was usually leftovers whenever an innkeeper took pity on him, but still!

"I'm not a kid!" he protested.

The woman reached up and patted him on the head consolingly. "Yes, yes, of course you aren't. Leon, get up, we're leaving."

The man-Leon-grunted and stood up, dusting himself off. Then he frowned, shooting a glance over at the clueless teen who was now sitting down next to a Pichu and complaining. Orange the hero bard... Wasn't he one of the good guys? A hero or something, not to mention the bearer of the Sword of Flames, if he remembered correctly. Now would be the perfect time to get rid of an enemy and take Firestar-two birds with one stone. He reached for his swords, but a little halo-ed, cloaked chibi suddenly poofed into existence on his shoulder.

"Don't do it!" it cried. "We still need him to repair the sword before we take it off his hands!"

Leon was surprised but nodded nonetheless.

"Good minion," praised a devil-horned, cloaked chibi who poofed onto his other shoulder. "Now, why don't you travel with him? He'll probably head to Mt. Silver, and I'll be there to have a nice chat with you and Kara. We'll have hot spring tea! Also, train him. He'll be so excited to become stronger, and then he'll be even more inspired when we show him that there are people light-years above him!"

A third chibi with horns and a donut halo poofed above his head. "If you do your job, you can get first pick of the cookies when you get back!"

Then all three chibis poofed back out of existence.

Leon sweatdropped. Why did The Boss _want_ their enemy to live, not to mention become stronger? He tapped Kara on the shoulder. "The Boss wants us to travel with him to Mt. Silver, and to train him," he whispered.

"Oh, wonderful," she huffed. "We have to put up with _this_ the whole trip?" She jerked a thumb at Orange, who was arguing over something petty with Chu.

Leon sighed and closed his eyes. "Orders are orders."

"Great," Kara grumbled. "Hey, kid!"

Orange instinctively looked up, then mentally berated himself for responding to 'kid'. "Yes?"

"We're going to Mt. Silver, and it's dangerous for a kid," Orange winced. When would these people stop calling him a kid?, "to travel on his own. Wanna come?"

Orange thought for a minute. If his comrades were lost, they would undoubtedly head to Mt. Silver and rendezvous there-it _was_ their original goal, after all. Plus, traveling with others was more fun than traveling alone... And yes, he was ignoring Chu because of his argument. Petty, petty child. "Sure!" he agreed excitedly. "Let's go!" He started off, but was stopped by Kara.

"Wait!" Orange looked back. "It's the _other_ way," she deadpanned. Leon shook his head despairingly while Orange laughed nervously.

"Uh, I knew that..."

* * *

Lustrous, Eleanor, and Nicholas had ended up in the same place.

"...Hi, I'm Lustrous, it's nice to meet you," the blonde-haired girl said at last.

"Nice to meet you, too!" Eleanor exclaimed. "My name's Eleanor, and this is Nicholas."

"Cool. So..."

"So..."

"Shnoooooooooooooooooooooooore..."

"WE'RE HANGING FROM A CLIFF WITH ONLY A THROWING KNIFE AND ROPE, AND ONE OF US IS UNCONSCIOUS!" Lustrous burst out. "WHAT DO WE DO NOW?!"

Eleanor smiled nervously. "I know things seem a bit bad right now, but... I'm sure we'll be okay!" Out of habit, she clasped her hands behind her back.

Well, it must have been a deep-rooted (and very inconvenient) habit, because she had been using those hands to hold onto the rope that was their lifeline.

"HOW ARE WE GOING TO SURVIVE NOW, HUH?!" Lustrous screamed as they fell.

"I'M SORRY!" Eleanor screamed back. "ROSA, MAGICAL LEAF!" A Roserade popped out of its pokeball and blasted a bunch of leaves at the ground below them, creating a cushion of greenery beneath them. They landed with a _FWUMP_ , leaves scattering upwarsd from the force of their fall.

"...That was close," Lustrous breathed.

" _Very_ close," Eleanor agreed. "But hey... we made it out of there, right?"

Then they located Nicholas (who had sunk in even further than them) by his cowlick and dug him out of the leaves.

* * *

Kaz glared.

Mithril glared.

Kaz was in comfortable ninja wear, more easy to move around in than her kimono.

Mithril, on the other hand, wore armor as hard as a Bastiodon's face. It is unknown where she got it from as it didn't fit in her travel sack, but some suspect the use of a dimensional pocket known as Hammerspace.

An epic wind blew a small cloud of dust between them.

"DIE, SPARKERS'S STALKER!" Mithril screamed, charging with her swords. Unfortunately, her charge was slowed by the weight of her armor.

"You'll never get me like that," Kaz giggled, nimbly dodging. She'd wait until the girl ran out of stamina, and then she'd pull off the helmet and lop off her head. Simple as that! The only problem would be the witness, but that was easily taken care of.

"TAKE THIS!" Mithril screamed, swinging her swords again. Kaz jumped out of the way and landed on the girl's shoulders. "THOU SHALT NOT LIVETH, THOU KNAVE!" Mithril had no idea what she was saying, but it sounded cool and intimidating... right? She jabbed her swords backwards, but Kaz jumped again, grabbing the sword hilts and forcibly tugging the blades out of Mithril's hands.

"Now, now," she said with a grin, waggling a finger in front of the girl condescendingly. "It's dangerous for children to play with swords. Better to put them in the care of a responsible adult like me." She giggled at 'responsible'.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mithril gasped in horror. "SIR SHARP! LADY DEADLY!"

Kaz's giggles were on the verge of becoming cackles. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're attached to these swords?" She dropped them and kicked them away out of the white-haired girl's reach. "Oops. But don't worry, you can have them soon enough." She yanked off Mithril's helmet. "After I kill you, that is."

"NO!" Mithril yelled furiously, trying to punch her only to be dodged. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I'M GOING TO BE THE EVIL MASTERMIND TO RULE THE EARTH!"

"Sure you will," Kaz said soothingly, pulling out a knife. She grabbed the girl by her hair to prevent her from escaping and held a knife to her throat. "Now, maybe I should make you scream before I-"

"I'LL NEVER TELL YOU WHERE SPARKERS IS NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO TO ME!" Mithril burst out.

Kaz paused. Shoot. In the rush of bloodthirst, she'd forgotten that she needed to ask about Benjen's location. This wouldn't do, this wouldn't do at all. She needed to see her brother, and soon. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot. Tell me, little one, _where_ is my dear brother?"

"I don't know who your brother is, but don't think you can trick me into a false sense of security and reveal Sparkers's location!" Mithril declared stubbornly.

Kaz laughed lightly. "Silly girl. The one you call 'Sparkers' _is_ my brother."

"Then why are you stalking him?! Why is he avoiding you?!" Mithril challenged. "Also, butterflies."

Kaz wondered if this kid was an idiot. "I have no idea why he is avoiding me, but I _do_ have my theories. As for why I'm stalking him... well, it's precisely _because_ he's avoiding me. I have no other way of meeting with him."

Mithril thought about this for a minute. Then she came up with a genius idea! "Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, you seem pretty strong!" There was no way she was going to take out the 'seem'. That was damaging to her pride. "I'm Mithril, future Emperor of The Evil Empire of Evilness that I will call Mithril's Evil Empire of Evilness. It just so happens that I'm going to recruit Sparkers into my Empire, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo whaddya say about joining?! You could even be on a team with him! Also, squirrels!"

Kaz smiled. "A team with Benjen? That would be wonderful." She wondered, though, why this girl was giving information so freely... Meh. Must be an idiot.

"Great!" cheered Mithril. "So! As your new future boss, I demand to know what happened!"

"Then have a seat." Kaz dragged the girl down to the ground with her. "How about this? For every bit of my past I tell you, you give me a hint to my brother's location. That sounds nice and fair, now, doesn't it?"

Mithril thought about that for a minute. "Yeah, I guess! So what are you waiting for? Tell me already!"

"If it's going to be long, maybe you could tell it over doughnuts and tea?" a voice asked pleasantly. The two turned to look and saw Adamant standing not too far away with a large platter of doughnuts and a teapot.

Neither females deigned to question how he had prepared it so fast or even when he had shown up and instead accepted the doughnuts. "I CALL THE CREAM-FILLED ONES!" Mithril hollered.

Of course, Kaz took them all.

"Now," she began, "it happened over ten years ago, and a lot has changed since then, so the first thing I'm going to tell you is a bit of background information." If the girl didn't make good on her deal, she'd never get to hear the actual story.

* * *

At the edge of the kingdom, there were many small villages. In one of these villages, there lived the Kaahn family.

There was a mother, a father, and two children, Kazakazukazakazakakakazakuzaku (better known as Kaz) and Benjen. The four lived happily together. The father was a hunter, and hunting was good in the woods by their village, so he and brought back good game for their meals every day-sometimes deer, sometimes pheasant.

 _"What's deer and pheasant?"_

 _"Deer's a four-legged mammal, and a pheasant's a bird. There are creatures out there besides pokemon, you know. Haven't you ever eaten meat?"_

He was busy, yes, but he would always make time to play with his children. He cherished his family above all else.

The mother had a bountiful garden that brimmed with healthful vegetables that could be traded to orchard-owning neighbors for fruit and still have enough for the family to get by. Her children would help her as much as they were able, and in the garden, many laughs could be heard.

The children played as children do and were very close-they were hardly ever seen without each other. Where Kaz was, Benjen went; wherever Benjen was, Kaz went. They stuck to each other like Magneton, close as close could be.

 _"That's not very descriptive!"_

 _"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I'd make it simple so even you could understand."_

 _"...Is that an insult?"_

 _"Why, whatever gave you that idea?"_

They did most everything together. They were also very kind-Benjen would help anyone who required assistance, and his sister and parents were very proud of him. Wanting to help others as well, she helped him whenever he ran errands for the elderly couple that lived next-door, or for the grocer to whom some sold their surplus goods.

And so there you have it. Good, pure-hearted children, loving parents-it was a perfect life. Unfortunately, one day it ended.

* * *

"And that's all you're going to get for now," Kaz declared.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Mithril complained. "No fair! I wanna hear the rest!"

Kaz shrugged. "Well, I suppose you'll have to give me a hint to his location, then."

"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine..." the girl sulked. "Uh... Let's see... It's in a dank, dark, dastardly, depressing-looking castle!"

Well. That wasn't very helpful. There were plenty of dank, dark, dastardly, depressing-looking castles. Kaz would have to call some real estate agents. Luckily, she hadn't played all her cards yet.

* * *

"Hnn... 's jus' not my day t'day..." Lapis grumbled. "Or week... Or month..." As he plodded along in his misery, he bumped into something.

 _'Hey! I am a perfectly respectable shiny Riolu and not at all a something!'_ the something, now revealed to be a banana, aurapathed angrily at the authors.

"Wut... A banana?! Walkin' an' talkin'?!" Lapis exclaimed, rubbing his eyes. "Ah, doesn' matter... Looks like luck 's finally comin' my way!" And he grabbed at the banana, ready to bite down. It squirmed, but Lapis was a master ninja. However, before he could bite down, something that felt suspiciously like Grisseo's Staff of Dirt and Grime whacked him in the side of the head.

"That's _my_ banana! You can't have it!" Grisseo exclaimed, rearing up for another blow with the Staff of Shadows.

"Nuh-uh! I saw it first!" Lapis countered, keeping one hand around the frantic banana and pulling out a shuriken with the other.

 _'I am_ not _a banana! I am Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation, and_ I DEMAND TO BE TREATED WITH THE RESPECT I DESERVE _!'_ a voice screamed in the two humans' heads. Then the banana auraported to a tree. Then it jumped on them.

' _I'm a she, you nincompoop! And stop calling me a banana!'_ the banana hollered at the authors, outraged by yet another case of mistaken identity. Charging up an Aura Sphere, the banana expertly avoided the swings of its pursuers' butterfly nets. It lobbed the ball of energy at Lapis, but the ninja parried with his cloak.

"Don't think yer the only one who kin do dat!" Lapis howled, charging up his own Aura Sphere (because of him being a human, and thus having pathetic aura power, it was tiny). "RASENGAN!"

The little ball of energy barely made it halfway to its target before destabilizing and exploding.

"... Dat probably coulda went better..." Lapis muttered before lunging in with his butterfly net.

The banana deadpanned before closing in on Grisseo and using Close Combat.

For the next few minutes, Grisseo's cries of pain and suffering were the loudest things in the... wherever they are.

"Huh. Wher _e are_ we?" Lapis wondered aloud.

The banana, who had created a Bone Rush and was about to hit the ninja, hesitated. _'You do not... know where you are?'_ it aurapathed.

"Nope! We were jus' picked up by a tornado and when I came to, I was here! An' then I saw ya, and th' rest is hist'ry!" Lapis replied, making another swipe with the net.

 _'Ah. I suppose that could explain your complete lack of manners and respect toward me, Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, and apprentice master of auraportation.'_

Then Grisseo, who was not quite as incapacitated as previously thought, captured the banana in his butterfly net.

* * *

"LYRA IS MINE!"

"WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, YOUR HIGHNESS, SHE'S MINE!"

"NO, MINE!"

"SHADDUP! NO, SHE'S MINE!"

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" _THWACK_.

"Ahh~ Hit me again, Lyra-sempai~"

"LYRAAAAAAAAAAA! WHY'D YOU HIT ME?!"

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what Natalie regained consciousness to.

"...The heck?" she asked, staring blankly. "Yo, Ly! What the heck is going on!" And of course she didn't question what the not-ninja was doing out of the castle...

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Those two idiots," she nodded at a boy with wavy black hair and another with blue who were duking it out, "seem to think they can own my heart."

Natalie blinked, then pulled out a random CD. "Have you ever listened to a _Luvdisc_ with either of them?"

"Seriously?" Lyra deadpanned.

Natalie shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything else. Why, you got a problem?!"

"TAKE THIS! PIE AND CHOCO-BALL CORNUCOPIA OF LOVE ATTACK!"

"OH YEAH?! LOVE-LOVE ELECTRIC POOL CUE STAB!"

"GWAH!" came two screams as they were hit with the other's attack.

"I have to deal with these idiots ALL. THE. TIME," Lyra snarled, looking very much like she was going to hurt someone if they didn't stop soon. Natalie gulped. Not wanting to be the one to get hurt (Arceus only knew how many times she and Mithril received the brunt of the girl's anger back in the castle), she quickly ordered Tiki to use a web to separate the two.

"YO, AUTHORS!" Will yelled enraged. "WHAT'RE YA DOING?! MAKING US STOP THE BATTLE BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOUR OC'S GONNA LOSE?!"

The authors do not deign to answer. Instead, Lyra is the one who responds by throwing a tree branch at him. "DON'T BREAK THE FOURTH WALL, NUMBSKULL!"

"That feels good~"

Natalie watched the scene with a mildly disturbed look on her face. "What is this guy, a masochist?"

"Yes," the two not-ninja and the prince answered in unison.

"...Well then. Seems like he's going to be a pain."

"No more puns, _please_ ," Lyra groaned. "Just listening to these two idiots is enough to give me a headache without listening to one more." Ignoring Natalie's offended "Hey!", Lyra continued, "Anyway, Will here has a split personality disorder. The second one's the masochistic one. It's also a sadist, so I wouldn't advise standing close to him." Natalie inched around until Lyra stood between her and Will. "He's one of the castle's ninja."

"And who's this?" Natalie asked, pointing at Ethan.

Ethan looked shocked. "You don't know? I'm the p-"

Lyra drove her elbow into his side. "He's a _peasant squire_."

"No, he's the-"

 _SMACK_.

"Hit me harder!"

"Oh, okay," Natalie said disappointedly. "I was hoping he was the prince. Then I could finish him off."

Lyra stared at her in disbelief as she taped the two male idiots' mouths shut. "You mean you don't memorize the faces of your targets?!"

"Leon and 700 usually do that!" the other girl protested.

"...I can't believe you people..."

* * *

After ascertaining that Lyra was not, in fact, in the castle, Silver left, fetched his sister, and visited Queen Lorelei again.

He dropped the token, but instead of Misty, Wallace, and Brawly showing up, Queen Lorelei herself ascended to the surface.

She looked ticked off.

"Guards!" The royal guards were immediately at her side. "Destroy them!"

 _Looks like she figured out that she was cheated,_ Silver thought, sighing. Then he jumped into the air as he froze the water with a glare.

"Rain of a Thousand Shuriken on Enemies Trapped in Ice!"

The poor guards never stood a chance.

"Why did you attack us?" asked Silver, trying diplomacy first.

"You _cheated_ me! _Nobody_ cheats _Queen Lorelei_!" the queen exclaimed, outraged.

Silver winced, knowing that the mermaid queen was vain and did not take kindly to being fooled.

"You accepted our terms of your own free will," Silver responded calmly. "It is no fault of ours if you find the trade unsatisfactory."

" _FREE WILLY?!_ YOU TRICK ME INTO LETTING YOU OFF EASY, AND YOU USE THE MONEY YOU SAVED TO WATCH _FREE WILLY?!_ " Queen Lorelei glared at Silver furiously. "DIE."

She raised her arm, and Silver noticed for the first time a glowing gauntlet.

He also noticed that the water around him and Blue was glowing.

Silver had just enough time to think, ' _Uh-oh,'_ before the water came crashing down on him.

When Silver woke up, he was in a jail cell.

With no windows.

Or bars.

Or doors.

And his feet were chained to extremely heavy iron balls.

He also had a fish bowl around his head.

At least he still had his weapons.

Looking around the cell, he noticed Blue, also with a fish tank on her head.

"Where are we?" he tried to ask, but the sound just bounced back to him.

Right, there was a fishbowl on his head.

Somebody really needed to invent sign language.

Then, he heard a wicked cackling, which was strange, because the fishbowl on his head was apparently soundproof.

"You're in Queen Lorelei's maximum security prison! Hope you like it- you're staying here for the rest of your life!" Silver looked around, but the only people in the completely sealed-off room were him and Blue.

Well. This was absolutely _fabulous_ , in the words of the husband of the innkeeper who keeps showing up. He turned to Blue and wrote a message in the air with his finger. 'Now what?'

Blue shrugged and mouthed 'They're going to come in here at some point to ask after the rest of the payment. I vote we leave then.'

Well. Now they had the basic outline of the plan.

The voice from outside returned. "Oops, I forgot to mention- you're being executed tomorrow!"

Silver nodded at Blue. They had less than twenty-four hours to devise a plan.

First, Silver tested for the frailty of the iron balls by karate chopping one.

Most people would have broken their hand if they karate chopped a ball that hard.

Then again, most iron balls would split in two after being karate chopped that hard.

Silver turned to Blue and shook his head. They would have to wait for their execution to escape.

Blue made a question mark and then mimed throwing a ball at the wall.

Silver shook his head again. Even if they could break out somehow, the iron balls would slow them down too much.

Hour after fruitless hour of planning, Blue convinced Silver that they would have to wing it. Then she went to sleep. Silver sighed and followed her example.

Silver woke to having an iron ball rolled over him. Even for him it hurt. He looked up and saw two guards tying him and Blue up.

Silver cursed himself for falling asleep. If he had stayed awake, he would have seen how they got in!

Then one of the guards called out an Abra. Never mind.

They were teleported straight to the execution room. A crowd of merfolk had gathered in front of the podium where Lorelei was.

"Everyone!" she shouted, "these humans are guilty of the worst kind of treason- cheating _me_!"

The crowd gasped collectively.

"For their crimes, the will be chopped in half and tossed into the abyss while still alive!"

The crowd roared, chanting, "DEATH! DEATH TO THE ENEMIES OF THE QUEEN!" They had somehow obtained pitchforks.

Silver and Blue were put in stretchers and rolled to the podium.

A guy with a rather nasty-looking axe was waiting for them.

As he raised the axe to split them in two, Silver rolled off the stretcher and swung his leg so the iron ball was on a collision course with Lorelei. She dodged, of course, but as she straightened Silver's other leg came flinging toward her, and the executioner split the iron ball so it didn't hit her. Now considerably lighter, Silver snatched away the axe and cut his other ball.

An armed, free Silver versus a crowd of armed merfolk would normally be no contest, but Silver stayed his hand, wary of the queen's gauntlet. He destroyed Blue's iron balls so they both were free, and then he cautiously backed away while eyeing Lorelei's arm. Some idiot guards tried to sneak up behind him, but a few shuriken took care of _them_.

Suddenly, Lorelei raised her arm. Silver and Blue started closing in, knowing that Lorelei couldn't use any big attacks if they were next to her. Tiny ice missiles tried to spear them through, but Silver expertly deflected all of them. Silver didn't want to kill Lorelei and cause an all-out war, so he just kept the axe raised threateningly. Eventually Lorelei figured out that she could just turn the water around them into ice, but as soon as she did so, Silver shattered the ice and appeared to be ready to split _her_ , so she ducked, deflecting the axe upwards with her gauntlet.

Suddenly, she didn't have it anymore.

Blue held up the gauntlet teasingly. She put it on her arm and created a bubble of air around herself and Silver.

"That fish bowl was so annoying," she exclaimed taking the bowl off. "Not to mention unfashionable."

"Y-you..." Lorelei gaped. Then her expression steeled. "This means war."

"We will not lose to you," returned Silver. "Your greatest weapon is gone, and your kingdom is in panic. Attack us, and we will _crush_ you."

"Toodles!" Blue giggled before sending herself and Silver shooting toward the surface.

Once they were at the surface, Blue handed the gauntlet over to Silver. "It'll make a great birthday present for Lyra!" she declared.

Silver nodded. Then he realized he still had the axe. "What should we do with this?" he asked.

Blue pondered for a second before smiling. "I think Sir Red could make good use of it!"

"Great. So... how are we going to face Her Majesty?"

"Well, we _did_ just start a war with the merfolk, but we also took the mermaid queen's magic gauntlet."

"...So then why are we giving it to Lyra?!"

Blue shrugged. "Oh, I'm sure Queen Crystal won't mind."

Silver sighed. "I'm not too sure about that..." He paused. "...Drat, we forgot to find out where Lyra is." And with the war going on, there was no way he'd have the freedom to search for her. Wait... How was a war with merfolk supposed to work, anyway? Couldn't they just use land and air trade routes, evacuate everyone living by the sea, and give up sushi...?

 **Petal: And that's the end of the chapter!**

 **Copper: yay**

 **Petal: ...Copper? O.o ...Aaaaaaaaaaaaand now he's too busy playing Pokemon Tower Defense to even look up. Ah well. Anyway, please review!**


	13. Easter Special

When Orange was a child, Easter was a happy day. The village parents would hide Easter Eggs and send the children on a quest to find them.

When Ethan was a child, Easter was a happy day. He and Topaz would hide Easter Eggs in high places and laugh as adults triggered the eggs to fall, splattering raw egg all over. The next day was not fun, however, because they were always caught and made to clean up the mess. Their mother did not believe in royalty's special rights.

When Lapis was a child, Easter was a happy day. He and Lyra would go into the not-ninja TV room and try to find hidden easter eggs in anime.

When Grisseo was a child, Easter was a happy day. The villagers were too busy hiding and finding eggs to notice him stealing- er, _liberating_ their crops to sacrifice to Darkrai.

When Lustrous and Adamant were children, Easter was a happy day. Their fathers would perform a special comedy routine and there were lots of tasty sweets to be found.

When Leon was a child, Easter was a happy day. He and the other village children would race against each other to find the most Easter Eggs.

When Mithril was a child, Easter was a happy day. She would make Easter Egg Bombs and hide them, only to watch them explode in confetti and smoke when the other children found them- it was good practice for her future career as an evil mastermind.

When Kaz and Benjen were children, Easter was a happy day. They would group together with their friends and search high and low for Easter Eggs.

When Natalie was a child, Easter was a happy day. There were always plenty of Easter Eggs hidden in the stable, the place she frequented most.

When Nicholas was a child, Easter was a happy day. He would always wake up from his naps in trees surrounded by colorful elliptical spheres.

When Eleanor was a child, Easter was a happy day. She would search for Easter Eggs hidden by her parents in the forest with her Budew.

When Lukree was in the Lucario Kingdom, Easter was a happy day. Sure, everybody had to trek through mountains and blizzards of snow, but it was worth it! They got a foreign good first discovered by Sir Aaron's Lucario: Chocolate.

When The Boss was a child, Easter was an exciting day! Everybody was beside themselves with excitement! They would throw exciting eggs into the air that excitingly exploded into exciting fireworks! And then there was the exciting game of hit the exciting egg! If it was hit hard and excitingly enough, it would rain name-brand candy! _Name-brand!_

Bottom line is, Easter was a good thing.

(*Note: This does not take place in continuity.*)

"HEY, EVERYONE!" burst out a pair of shorties who nobody probably remembers at all. "WE BROUGHT YOU ALL HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN AN EASTER EGG HUNT THAT IS NOT IN CONTINUITY!"

"...Huh?" asked everyone in unison, staring at the pair blankly.

"IGNORE THAT LAST PART!"

They were in a mountain with blizzards of snow.

 _'MY HOME!'_ the banana howled aurapathically.

"A TALKING BANANA?!" all but three of the cast screamed.

 _'I am_ not _a banana! I am Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation!'_ the banana screeched, still aurapathically.

"You're getting off-track, everyone," the taller of the two short people intervened. "Focus, please, people!"

The large group ignored her and kept yammering away. Well, all except for The Boss, who was sipping tea and listening attentively like a good character.

"Ugh. _You_ do something about this," she muttered, jabbing the other shorty with her elbow.

"Okay. LOOK, A TALKING BANANA ISN'T THAT STRANGE! YOU'RE POKEMON CHARACTERS! FERALIGATR IS A WATER-SHOOTING CROCODILE! A PICHU IS AN ELECTRIC... an electric... mouse...?"

"Okay, that's enough, that's enough!" the girl declared, jabbing him again. The group had turned to face them and were staring curiously like the boy wasn't normal.

"What do you mean? That's totally normal," the boy protested. As I am a mere narrator and not the authors, I am not allowed to answer him.

The girl started again. "So, basically, you're all here to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt to celebrate Easter in our world."

"Huh?"

"Ignore the last part again, please! Anyway, you'll be grouped into pairs. Li'l bro, the rules, if you please."

"Don't get eaten by the giant birds and you'll be fine. Unless you get eaten by the giant fish. Or the giant crocodile dog." The two snickered at the last bit; it appeared to be some kind of inside joke.

"So!" the girl said brightly. "Go find your partner, GO!"

By the time everyone stopped running, yelling, screaming, and tugging at each other, the teams were as follows:

Team 1: Adamant and Lustrous

Team 2: Lyra and Lapis

Team 3: Ethan and Will

Team 4: Eleanor and Nicholas

Team 5: Leon and Natalie

Team 6: Mithril and Kara

Team 7: The Boss and Kaz

Team 8: 700 and Genevieve

Team 9: Orange and Grisseo

Kaz smiled and stared intently at Genevieve. "Let's trade partners."

Genevieve didn't really see the problem, and she was still made at 700 for thinking she needed to be fixed. "Oka-"

"Don't do it!" clamored The Boss excitedly! "You'll have so much more excitement with someone you're used to. I'm sure that 700 has forgiven you for eating his cookies!"

Sometimes, Genevieve seriously wondered why she worked for this idiot. As for 700, he had subtly edged behind her, keeping her as a shield between him and Kaz.

"Good to be working with you," Lyra said, fist-bumping Lapis.

"Right back atcha," the other not-ninja replied.

Then they cackled over how many more eggs they were going to find than everyone else.

Ethan and Will were glaring at each other. Their though processes were pretty much the same: _'Why do I have to work with_ him _?! I wanted to partner up with Lyra! But noooooooooooooo,_ Lapis _gets to be her partner! Why always Lapis?! I mean, he's cool and all, and a really good friend, but why does Lyra spend so much time with him?! Could it be_ *le gasp* _that they aren't just friends, but are in fact in love?!'_

Lapis sneezed. "Yo, Ly, do somethin' 'bout yer boyfriend an' yer fanboy. I think dey're talkin' 'bout me agin."

Lyra's face flushed. "I do _**NOT**_ like him!" she screeched. "Don't you dare even think about suggesting that ever again!"

Lapis rolled his eyes. "An' yet ya gave him Valentine's Day chocolates..."

"SHUT UP! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M STILL FRIENDS WITH YOU!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

Ethan and Will were too busy glaring at each other to hear what Lapis said and react, so we shall never know who got the chocolates.

"We and the banana will be the impartial judges, popping up out of nowhere and scaring you all out of your wits! Ready, get set, GO!"

 _Team 1_

Adamant was cooking up food. The delicious scent attracted wild pokemon.

Then Lustrous whipped out her paper fan and threatened them into telling her where they saw the Easter Eggs. Same old, same old, every year.

 _Team 2_

Lyra and Lapis specified a time to meet back up, nodded to each other, then leaped off into the trees in opposite directions in search of the Easter Eggs. Lapis found one immediately, but it exploded in his face.

"...I git it, Eth'," he coughed, his hair having turned into an afro. "Ya don' like da fact dat I'm such good friends wit' Ly..."

"ACTUALLY, IT WAS I WHO PLANTED THAT EXPLODING EGG! AND YOU FELL FOR IT! WHAT A FISH!" the short boy from before yelled, dropping from a tree like a spider. Then he poofed away before Lapis could nail him with a shuriken out of surprise.

Lyra, on the other hand, found two piles of regular Easter Eggs addressed to her in two very familiar handwritings.

She rolled her eyes. "Idiots," she said fondly, picking up the Eggs and dropping them in a sack.

 _Team 3_

Ethan and Will had collected as many Easter Eggs as they could and left them where Lyra would find them, addressing them to the assistant captain. Then, in the search of more Easter Eggs, they were eaten by the crocodile dog (not really).

 _Team 4_

"We can do this, Nicholas!" Eleanor declared determinedly.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah..." he murzled. Then he yawned and fell asleep. Eleanor frowned as she stared at him. This... could be a problem...

 _Team 5_

"Let's do this!" Natalie yelled, fist-pumping. "Those Easter Eggs are ours!"

Leon smiled nostalgically, closing his eyes. "Yeah..." Unfortunately, he was forced to open them again in fear of tripping over something he couldn't see since Natalie had hopped onto Greg and was now dragging him along. Taking a literal leap of faith, he jumped, and she yanked him onto the Ponyta.

Unfortunately, he fell right back off when a banana suddenly hung upside down from a tree and aurapathed _'BOO!'_

 _Team 6_

"Alright," Kara said, "we're going to have a contest to see who can find the most eggs. We'll meet back here at the end. Okay?"

"Okay!" Mithril exclaimed gleefully, not even bothering to ask what the point of the contest was when they were supposed to be a team. "IMMA GET MORE THAN YOU!" Then she raced off, yelling at the top of her lungs.

Kara spread out a picnic blanket, sat down, and had tea.

 _Teams 7 and 8_

Kaz ignored her partner and raced after Team 8. "BENJEN!" she shouted.

700's eyes started to tear up, and his breathing became painful and labored, much to Genevieve's alarm. "Whoa! What's going on?!"

"It's my... illness..." he choked out. "Need... to get... away... from... her..."

Kaz was almost upon them now, a manic expression on her face. "GET AWAY FROM MY BROTHER, YOU HUSSY!" she screamed at Genevieve, her former semblance of cordiality completely dashed away.

Genevieve didn't think. She just ran. Grabbing her partner, she raced away from the crazy woman as fast her legs could carry her, screaming profanities that are not allowed to be put in this story.

"Partner Not-Minion, catch!" The Boss called, tossing Kaz an egg.

 _I see! I can use this to splatter that woman's feet and slow her down!_ Kaz thought. "I suppose even idiots can be helpful!" she called to The Boss, pleased. Then the egg exploded in her face.

The female shorty from before popped up out of a random hole that suddenly appeared in the ground garbed in a miner costume complete with the flashlight helmet and a pickaxe. "I forgot to mention! Some of the eggs explode!" she chirped. Then she poofed away before Kaz could kill her.

 _Team 9_

"I haven't had an Easter Egg Hunt since I was a kid!" Orange said merrily. "You know, what with all the traveling and hero business and stuff."

Grisseo nodded. "I'm really good at these! I know exactly how egg-hiders think!"

"Really?" Orange asked, impressed. "How?"

"I used to hide eggs myself so the villagers didn't notice me steal- er, _liberating_ their crops," Grisseo said proudly.

Orange nodded. "I see! So where should we look first?"

Grisseo scanned the area. "Ah! See that giant bird over there? There's probably a bounty of eggs in its stomach!"

"Er, isn't going into the birds' stomachs what we were told _not_ to do?"

"Nonsense! That's just to throw us off the trail!" Then Grisseo clambered into the bird's mouth.

* * *

"LYRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Lyra turned around quickly, shuriken in hand. If it was one of those two lovestruck idiots...

Oh. It wasn't. "Orange? What is it?" she asked, staring at the teary-eyed boy. What was wrong with this guy...?

"I-It's Grisseo!" he sobbed. "GRISSEO'S BEEN EATEN BY THE BIRD!"

"The Darkrai whacko? Not my problem," she declared, turning back around to continue her search.

"PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME! DISTRACT THE BIRD WHILE CHU AND I GET HIM OUT!" he begged, tackling her ankles and nearly causing her to fall over.

"Okay, okay, just let go!" she yelled, trying to kick him off. First he fell in love with her cousin, and now he was bugging her to save his friend? Seriously, he was so annoying...

She helped him adjust his plan. Instead of having her distract the bird, he would play his banjo. Moved by the music, the bird would _surely_ spit him out!

Orange agreed wholeheartedly and ran off to put the plan into action. Lyra shook her head, pitying the poor bird.

* * *

Lapis darted through the blizzards of snow, positive that sooner or later he would find an egg. Then he walked into a blizzard of eggs and was knocked out.

 _'Ha! Take that, human! That's for trying to capture me, Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation, in a butterfly net! Now for the other one...'_

* * *

Genevieve lay flat on her back, a steady stream of curses passing through her lips.

She had fallen.

In a pit trap.

" _So_ sorry to do this to you, but it's necessary, you see," Kaz explained, her signature smile plastered back on her face. "I'll be taking Benjen now..." She reached down, dragged 700 out of the pit trap, and walked away.

One thought dominated Genevieve's mind now.

 _'Who in the world is Benjen?!'_

Then Boss came and knocked Kaz out. "We're supposed to be looking for eggs! Don't attack poor 700 just because you can't find any!" Then he dropped 700 back in the pit trap.

Now a different thought dominated Genevieve's mind.

 _'I should really quit this job and strike out on my own. I'm not paid enough for this.'_

* * *

"Muahaha... LAPIS!"

Ethan and Will leaped out of a tree. It seems they escaped the crocodile dog's stomach. It also seems the blizzard had passed. Unfortunately, they crashed into each other in midair and landed rather ungracefully.

 **Wild ETHAN and WILL appeared!**

Lapis stared blankly at them, having been woken back into consciousness by the noise.

They quickly picked themselves up. "You cannot have Lyra!" Ethan proclaimed. "You may be my friend, but I'm not going to stand aside!"

"You cannot have Assistant Captain Lyra!" Will proclaimed. "You may be my senior, but I'm not going to stand aside!"

 **Foe ETHAN used YOU CAN'T HAVE LYRA! I'M NOT GOING TO STAND ASIDE!**

 **It's not very effective...**

 **Foe WILL used YOU CAN'T HAVE LYRA! I'M NOT GOING TO STAND ASIDE!**

 **It's not very effective...**

By this time, Lapis was already walking away. "Yeah, cool, ya kin have 'er, bye."

 **RUN**

"WE'RE NOT DONE YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!"

 **You can't escape!**

Lapis tossed them each an egg. "Here, peace offerin'."

 **FIGHT**

The eggs exploded in their faces.

 **EXPLODING EGG**

 **It's super effective! Foe ETHAN is paralyzed!**

 **It's super effective! Foe WILL is paralyzed!**

 **RUN**

 **Escaped successfully!**

* * *

Grisseo balanced on the Staff of Shadows, the dirt repelling the stomach acid. No eggs were in sight.

"Argh, why is everybody so bad at hiding eggs? A _real_ egg-hider would definitely have put something here."

Suddenly, the acid around him surged, and he found himself back outside.

* * *

 _Nicholas sleeping_

 _Eleanor weeping_

 _Wild Pokemon creeping._

(Nicholas had been carried off by a giant bird and put in its nest. Eleanor, despite her best efforts, was unable to rescue him and was now crying- the bird was drooling. Wild Pokemon were creeping up on her without her knowledge.)

* * *

Adamant told the wild pokemon that if they brought back eggs, he'd make omelettes.

Unfortunately, they were soon chased by an angry mother giant bird.

* * *

 _Bird is flyin_

 _Nicholas is fine_

 _Eleanor stopped cryin_

(Eleanor proceeded to throw a knife with a rope attached. The blade pierced Nicholas's sweater, and she tugged on the rope until he finally came downk, landing on a Magical Leaf cushion that Rosa had prepared.)

* * *

 _'TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME'S UP!'_ aurapathed a loud, banana-ish voice. All the teams were poofed back into the spot they had originally been in.

Lyra and Lapis smirked at the mountain of eggs they had between them.

Mithril complained loudly about how Kara hadn't gotten any eggs at all.

Orange was just grateful that Grisseo had gotten back safely.

Grisseo was muttering about how the egg-hiders were complete amateurs.

Kaz was still trying to get to 700, but she had been tied down with magic rope. 700 himself was sobbing into The Boss's cloak in a manner ill-befitting a master assassin while Genevieve tried to make sense of what had just transpired.

Lustrous was breathing heavily and looking around frantically, making sure that the giant bird that had nearly eaten her and Adamant was gone.

Leon and Natalie stared at the broken chocolate eggshells that had been shattered from the bumpy ride aboard Greg. They hoped they still counted.

As for Ethan and Will... They had finally remembered that the point was for _them_ to have the most Easter Eggs, not _Lyra_.

"And the winner, with 436356789 eggs is..." the strange boy said, "Team 2: Lyra and Lapis!"

The not-ninja team let out a loud whoop, high-fiving and drowning out the other teams' disappointed cries with twin shouts of "OH YEAH, WHO'RE THE NINJA?! WE'RE THE NINJA!"

"And the grand prize is..." the girl said, doing a drumroll, "THESE RABBIT COSTUMES!"

Lyra and Lapis paused mid-victory chant. "...What."

"Go on, try them on, no need to be shy!"

"NO FREAKING WAY!"

"I AIN'T WEARIN' DAT!"

Ethan and Will tackled Lyra. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO! WEAR IT! YOU'LL LOOK SO CUUUUUUUUUUTE!"

"GET OFFA ME! I'M NOT DOING IT!"

"BENJEN!" _RIIIIIIIIIIIIIP._

"GAH! SHE BROKE OUT OF THE ROPES!"

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AD! NO, ADAMANT, THIS ISN'T FAIR!" _SLAP._

"That hurt, Lustrous!"

"Everyone, please calm down! I'll even play a song for you!"

"OH, DON'T YA DARE!"

"NO! DARKRAI LOVES HIS SONGS!"

"You're all acting like children! Stop this at-" _BONK._ "...That's it, it is _ON,_ brats!"

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Me too, me too! Also, Cerberus!"

"YEAH! LET'S FIGHT!"

"I suppose I'll have to, too..."

"Shnoooooooooooooooooooore..." _KA-THUNK._

"A fight? I've never heard of this tradition before... Oh well! I'm sure things will be fine in the end!"

 _'You dare challenge me, Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation?! Fine then! BRING IT ON, HUMANS!'_

"HAVE A NICE DAY! :) *-*"

 _And so Easter ended with a rather violent fistfight and two maniacally laughing vertically-challenged teens._


	14. The Banana is Not a Banana

**Petal: 'Ello. O-O**

 **Copper: O-O .ollE'**

 **Petal: ... Just don't question it... Anyway, we finally have the next chapter! Yay!**

 **Copper: !yaY !retpahc txen eht evah yllanif ew ,yawynA ...ti noitseuq t'nod tsuJ ...**

 **Petal: ...Right. Anyway, we don't own Pokemon, its associated characters, Will, Natalie, Siebold, Wallace, Eleanor, Nicholas, Mithril, Kaz, 700, Leon, or Kara. Chapter start!**

"Okay, so let's start this again," Lyra declared as they all sat in a circle. "Hello, I'm Lyra. I'm not looking for a significant other and I like my best friend better than you two idiots." She pointed at Ethan and Will.

Will grinned sheepishly. "Hello, I'm Will. I'm sorry for screaming 'she's mine', and I swear I'm not usually like that, Ms. Natalie. I kind of... lose my head sometimes."

The word 'miss' echoed in Natalie's head. Could it be... someone was finally showing respect?! Hmph! About time!

"Hello, I'm Ethan," Ethan said, calmer than he had been before. "I'm also sorry for my yell, but I lose my head sometimes too, like when I meet a love rival."

"Looks more like infatuation to me," Natalie muttered. "And sounds like you're making excuses. Anyway, hi, I'm Natalie. I'm one of The Minions."

Ethan blinked. "You mean like the little yellow dudes?"

"Wrong universe," Will whispered.

The two struck up a discussion (this one much more civil than the last).

"...What's _wrong_ with them?" Natalie asked at last. "Seriously."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "You mean besides the fact that they're idiots?"

"Yeah. I mean, what do they like about you?"

Lyra snorted. "Go ask them yourself."

* * *

"What do I like about Assistant Captain Lyra?" Will repeated. "Well... she's just so awesome! She's cool and although she puts up a front of hating pretty much all of us, she does care about us! I went on a mission with her once, and I thought I was going to die because I made a rookie mistake, but she saved me!"

Natalie could not imagine Lyra saving anyone.

"When I thanked her, she looked kind of embarrassed, y'know, blushing, and looked away, saying 'Tch... Just look out next time, got it?'"

Natalie also couldn't imagine Lyra looking embarrassed. "...So, don't you know that girls don't like being told they belong to someone?"

"Oh, that? Well, it was originally 'she's my crush', but then Lyra started threatening to crush us if we didn't stop, and she'd always disappear when we said the word love, and-"

"You sound like you're making excuses."

"But I'm not! Just check with her!"

* * *

"What do I like about Lyra?!" Ethan gasped.

"Yeah. And just so you know, you have to give me valid reasoning like the split-personality kid did, not 'she's pretty'."

"Well... We've known each other since childhood. Our parents were friends, y'see, and my mom really hates the 'royalty is above the peasants' thing, so she actually let me and my sister talk to other people instead of walling us up in the castle. We'd always play with Lyra, and we got to be really good friends."

Natalie could not imagine Lyra having friends.

"She comes across as rough and mean, but she's really nice on the inside! I was a bit of a weakling when I was a kid, but Ly always stood up for me."

Natalie wondered where the guards were when all this was happening.

"Yup, she'd protect me from the guards whenever they were after me for pulling a prank!"

Natalie facevaulted.

"She also pays no heed to my title, which is pretty nice... She treats me like she would anyone else, never sucking up to me and never hesitating to tell me when I'm going wrong. And then... our childhood familiarity just... grew. Before I knew it, I _like_ -liked her."

* * *

All Natalie could get from the two stories was that Lyra saved the two boys, they liked her, and they should really stop trying to claim her.

Lyra agreed with her wholeheartedly.

"So tell me," Natalie said, a frown marring her face. "Why did they keep on saying 'she's mine'?"

Lyra rolled her eyes. "It probably started with an 'I love her more' shouting match. Then it devolved to 'she's going to go out with me'. And then it became 'she's mine'."

Natalie continued to frown. "So... In other words..."

"In other words, the author who typed that part is lazy," Will supplied helpfully.

"And a scatterbrained idiot," Ethan added.

Will joined Natalie in the frowny-face club. "Should you really be talking about your creator like that...?"

Ethan shrugged. "She basically writes my crush on Lyra as my defining trait. I'm allowed to talk smack about her."

Then a boulder fell from the sky reading 'insubordination'. A smaller rock inscribed with the message 'and stop breaking the fourth wall' followed not too long after.

* * *

"So yer really not a banana?" Lapis asked suspiciously.

 _'That's what I've been trying to tell you!_ the banana said with an exasperated sigh. _'I am Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation! I was just minding my own business when I was tossed into the tornado, and now here I am!'_

"Well, you certainly _look_ like a banana... can you prove that you aren't?" Grisseo challenged.

The banana deadpanned. _'Scan me with your Pokedex, idiot.'_

"Oh yeah!" exlaimed Lapis, pulling out his 'dex. "Let's see..."

 **Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon. When sad or scared, Riolu's aura becomes stronger as a way of signaling its allies. Its body is little yet powerful. It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night. Riolu has the power to see and understand emotions like happiness and anger in aura waves.**

"Well, I'll be!" Lapis exclaimed. Lukree could see that he was surprised, probably because of how impressive Riolu are. "You aren't a banana after all!"

Lukree facevaulted.

"Oh, that's right! Lapis, we gotta hurry to Mt. Silver before the new moon passes!" Grisseo exclaimed. "Or else we'll stay pink for the rest of our lives!"

"Right! Let's go!"

Lapis and Grisseo walked two feet before realizing something.

 _Which way do we go?_ they wondered.

 _'So... You need to get to Mount Silver, but you don't know which way it is?'_

Seeing nods of confirmation, Lukree smirked.

 _'Luckily for you, Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation, high cartographer of the King is here. I know exactly where Mount Silver is located!'_

Lapis nodded in understanding. "I git it... Yer gonna bring us there, right? ...Wait! Did ya just git another title?!"

Grisseo looked suspiciously down his nose at the Riolu. "How can we be so sure? What if you just get us lost because you're bitter about the Butterfly Net Incident?"

 _'Don't speak of that,'_ Lukree aurapathed flatly. _'And besides, if I help you, I can add "Great Benefactor of the Pathetic Humans" to my list of titles!'_

"Stuck up little..." Lapis muttered under his breath.

 _'Oh? Are you saying that you can get to Mt. Silver without my help?'_ Lukree shot back smugly.

"Rrrgh... Fine. But one suspicious little move, and I'm whipping out the butterfly nets," Grisseo threatened.

 _'We do not speak of that,'_ Lukree repeated. _'Anyway, the sooner we get started, the sooner we finish! Let's go!'_

Lukree pointed at the tenth-tallest-but-twelvth-shortest mountain. _'That's where we need to go.'_

"Ha ha!" Lapis laughed. "Now dat we know which one it is, we don't need ya anymore! See ya, banana!"

But as soon as he started off, he turned back.

"Which one wuzzit agin?" he asked.

* * *

Lorelei was steaming over her defeat- er, her good will in letting those peasants get away. She had recently sent Siebold, her best diplomat, to get Taikutsu no Tochi to wage war against Konton no Tochi. However, he had returned in a frilly outfit muttering about how gentlemen did not get paid enough. Hmm... Maybe she'd send Wallace.

The door opened and a guard edged into the room. "Um... Y-your M-majesty?" he stuttered. "Th-there's a-a l-letter for y-you."

"Bring it here," Lorelei commanded.

"Y-yes m-ma'am!" the guard scurried over to her, handed her the letter, and fled at top speed.

Lorelei opened the letter. It was scrawled in a piece of bark, so whoever had sent it obviously intended for her to recieve it.

Here's what it said:

 _Dear Queen Lorelei :D_

 _It has come to my attention that you have declared war on Konton no Tochi :D. I was thinking that you would appreciate reinforcements and a way to fight on land :D. I will send you reinforcements in a week if you have at least begun the attack :D. They are very strong, so you probably won't lose to shock troops :D. Enclosed in this message is a magic charm that will give your troops the power to fly :D. Put these gifts to good use :D!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _The Boss :D_

"...Is this person trying to be my friend?" Lorelei wondered idly.

* * *

"Say, where are we headed now?" Eleanor asked curiously.

"Mt. Silver," Lustrous declared. "I have to turn back from being pink!"

"Why _are_ you pink, by the way?"

Lustrous stopped. Then she turned to face the older girl, an extremely depressing look on her face. "Don't ever trust a pink old man with a Pinkan Berry orchard." Then she resumed walking.

Eleanor sweatdropped. Maaaaaaaaaaaaybe she shouldn't have asked... "So, why was a little girl traveling by herself?" she asked hurriedly.

Lustrous stopped again. " _Don't_ call me a little girl," she snapped. "And who ever said I was traveling alone?!"

"You weren't?"

Lustrous shook her head. "Nope. I was with a friend and three other guys. One of them was a ninja, and the other was Orange, the Left-Handed Banjo-Player."

"Lapis was looking for a guy called Orange," Nicholas murzled idly to Eleanor, yawning so deeply that he leaned back and barely avoided getting stung in the face by a bee. "I wonder if *yawn* he found him..."

"Maybe he did!" Eleanor exclaimed optimistically. "Lustrous, was the ninja perhaps a brown-haired guy with fangs and a cowlick?!"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, he was."

"That's great!" Eleanor cheered. "That means he finally found who he was looking for!"

"Wonder where Kaz went," Nicholas yawned, rubbing his eyes. He promptly tripped over a fallen branch.

"Good question... She's probably fine, but we should look for her all the same..." Eleanor mused. "Right, Nick?" His sleepy voice was not heard. Her only answer was the buzz of insects, the chirping of aviary beings, and the rustle of foliage. "...Nick?" She and Lustrous turned, expecting to see the young man faceplanted with one foot still stuck behind whatever he had tripped over, or perhaps asleep on his feet. Instead, there was a hole in the ground, and the tip of his cowlick vanished into it from their vision.

"..."

"..."

"OH MY ARCEUS, NICHOLAS!" Lustrous screamed, rushing to the hole. Eleanor held her back.

"Please calm down!" the elder shouted. "I forgot to tell you this, but we're ninja! He's going to be fine, so don't get yourself in a perilous situation!"

And so they waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Eventually, Eleanor gave in to her worries and called him.

* * *

Nicholas's communication device buzzed in his pocket. He continued to free fall without picking it up.

* * *

"Okay, maybe we should get him out of there," Eleanor declared, calling out her Roserade. "He probably fell asleep! Rosa, go down there. Send up a Magical Leaf when you get him, okay?" The pokemon nodded, and Eleanor tied a length of rope securely around her waist. "Good luck!" Rosa nodded again and leaped down the hole.

"...Will this be okay?" Lustrous asked. "I mean, who knows how far he fell... That rope might not be enough..."

"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Eleanor exclaimed, turning around and giving the younger girl a reassuring smile as she clasped her hands together-fortunately, the action didn't land them in a life-threatening situation this time.

And so the rope lowered.

And lowered.

And lowered.

And eventually it ran out. Eleanor felt a tugging that was more than how much her partner weighed. "...Oh dear..." And before she had time to secure herself to something, she was pulled down the hole as well.

"Eleanor!" Lustrous exclaimed in panic, reaching for the other's hand.

"No, don't-!"

They connected.

"...Shoot. Well, all for one and one for all..."

And then they, too, were swallowed by the darkness of the pit.

* * *

"I wanna hear more! I wanna hear more! I wanna hear more!" Mithril chanted, skipping after Kaz. How Adamant managed to keep up with them with his slower pace is questionable, but let's not worry about that right now, hm?

"I believe we had a deal," Kaz replied, smiling sweetly. "Have you thought of the next hint?"

That had Mithril stumped. She didn't want to give away too much, but subtlety just wasn't her style (actually, she was just terrible at it). "...But still!" she insisted, hopping over a log. "It's not like we're really going anywhere, right?! So why waste time walking around aimlessly when we could be more productive and find out backstories!"

Kaz turned to face her, her smile growing slightly creepy. "Oh, but we _aren't_ wandering around aimlessly. We're visiting the nearest dank, dark, dastardly, depressing-looking castle, and if Benjen isn't there, we'll search the next one, and the next one, and the next one..."

Mithril shivered. This lady was scaring her.

The group continued with Kaz's lack of story, and to fill in the lull of conversation, Mithril began yammering away about random subjects (being _most_ careful to avoid the subject of Sparkers's location, of course), Adamant adding the occasional noise of agreement.

Finally, the white-haired girl could take it no longer.

"Please tell me!" she shouted. "I figured out a hint, so _PLEASE TELL ME_!"

Kaz inwardly smirked. Now she knew the limits of the brat's patience. "Alright then, where did we leave off?"

* * *

One day, the peaceful, perfect life of the Kaahn family ended. It was a day just like any other. The sun shone warmly, the wind was a mere refreshing breeze, and flowers were blooming in a rainbow of colors. It was all quite ironic, considering how the day would turn out.

The Kaahn siblings were playing a game of tag in field at the outskirts of the village with a group of other children from the village. So far, neither of them had been it, and the current tagger had held her position for quite a while already. She wasn't as athletic as the other children, preferring to stay inside with a novel from her father's bookshop rather than running outside with everyone else. However, she would venture out for extended periods of time every once in a while for Vitamin D, and she would always join the games when she did. She was clearly winding down-her breath was coming in short gasps, and her movements were sluggish and tired. Unfortunately, none of the other children took pity on her and allowed her to tag them.

Well, _none_ would be inaccurate. There was one child who was sympathetic enough to do so. Clutching his Gengar plush doll, eight year old Benjen ran over to her and offered his hand with a kind smile.

 _"He was such a precious angel! Absolutely adorable, always kind to others-it isn't fair that_ he _was the one to get kidnapped."_

 _"Please stop cracking the teacup, Ms. Kaz."_

 _"Oh, am I? My_ most _sincere apologies."_

 _"Keep telling the story! Come on, please!"_

Extremely relieved, the girl tagged him and went to sit by a tree to catch her breath. Benjen's elder sister was _very_ proud of her baby brother and his kindness.

Suddenly, however, the scene changed drastically. The sun was blocked out by dark, heavy, menacing clouds; the wind picked up and became strong, violent gusts, and the blossoms of the flowers were ripped from their stems by the gale.

The dark clouds seemed to gather in only one place before lightning speared forth. All the children were blown back by the resulting shockwave. When the dust cleared, the only thing occupying the crater was...

...that man.

He was shrouded in a dark cloak the color of mud. Birds instinctively flew away from him, and the bugs in the grass were pulverized by his presence. The children were frozen in terror as he inched ever closer.

Before his sister could stop him, sweet, kind Benjen scurried forward to the man.

"H-hello, sir," he stammered. "I-if you're a traveler l-looking for a place to stay, m-my family would be gl-glad to accomodate you."

Even though he was trembling in fear, Benjen was trying to be nice to the man who all the rest could only see as pure evil. His sister wanted to scream, "BENJEN, COME BACK!" but no sound came from her throat.

The man raised his grisly hand and began reaching toward Benjen...

* * *

"...And that's all for now," Kaz sighed. "Now, the hint?"

"Th-The hint," Mithril sniffled. "The hi-hint is it's l-located somewhere ne-ear a famous t-tavern."

"Excellent," Kaz said, rising. "Now, if you'll excuse me. There's better reception if I go into that forest, and I must contact my sources."

"Are you crying?" Adamant asked once she left., holding out a handkerchief.

"Sh-Shut up! No I'm not!" Mithril sobbed, snatching the square of cloth from him and blowing her nose with a _BLURT_. "Kaz didn't f-finish her story, b-but something t-t-terrible must've happened to Sparkers! H-How could someone be so awful?! The poor little tyke only wanted to help!"

"But aren't _you_ evil?" Adamant asked. It was rather obvious that it was not so, but hey, whatever she wanted to believe.

Mithril paused. "B-But this and that are two diff-" she spluttered, only to be interrupted by him.

"It's not different at all. Evil is, by definition, profoundly immoral and malevolent. Kidnapping an innocent child is clearly immoral."

Mithril could find no rebuttal for that.

* * *

"I'm... weak?" Orange gasped. "I understand that I'm not the strongest shield in the armory, but I never thought I was _weak_..."

"It's in part because of your weapon," Leon elaborated. "You're trained as a swordsman, but your sword can't cut. Instead, you use it like a club and bludgeon your enemies. Unfortunately, it's not heavy enough to deal much damage that way. To make up for it, you've developed strong arm muscles. Here." He tossed one of his broadswords to the boy, who barely managed to catch it. "If we encounter an enemy, like a bandit, try fighting with that."

"B-But," Orange stammered, "wouldn't that mean... killing someone?"

Leon's gaze hardened. "I figured you'd have this problem as well... You're too naive. Too soft. The reason you've kept that rusty old sword isn't because you're attached to it, is it? It's because you're afraid to cut."

Orange attempted to protest. "I'm not af-"

"You're afraid," Leon cut in, "to kill."

"I'm _not!_ " Orange insisted, "I killed a bunch of hungry carnivorous beasts! Their corpses should still be somewhere! Besides, I _am_ attached to Rusty!"

Leon was skeptical. "No, you aren't. You've only been with Rusty for a few years. If it was an heirloom from your father I could understand, but holding onto something for a few years does not forge an attachment. Like that Pichu of yours. He has no loyalty to you, does he?"

"Of course he does!" Orange protested. "We're best buds! Me, Chu, Rusty, and Jo... We're like a square of friendship!"

"..." Leon stared. "...You count your sword and banjo in there too...?"

Kara cut in. "Hate to interrupt, but... don't we need to get moving?"

Leon grunted. "Fine, I'll teach you on the move."

Orange nodded. "And I'll prove to you that I'm _not_ afraid of killing!"

Chu pointed to his Elexecutor. "Pichu chu!"

"See?" Orange asked smugly. "Chu will prove his loyalty to me, too!"

Chu frowned. That wasn't what he said. He had demanded for the square to be made into a pentagon with the Elexecutor.

And then they set off toward Mount Silver!

* * *

"You're absolutely _sure_ that the merfolk won't be able to attack?" Crystal asked, biting her nails.

Silver sighed. "The probability is low. We have their queen's magic item, and it's not as if they can come on land. We have land trade routes, and teams of flying-type pokemon can carry deliveries over the ocean. It's a bit more costly and time-consuming, but the kingdom's economy can handle it."

Green nodded in agreement. "Our only worry is if they ally themselves with another kingdom that _can_ attack us."

"Or gain the ability to fly!" piped up his son, Aquamarine.

They were all silent for a moment, staring at the royal advisor's porcupine-haired offspring.

"...Aquamarine, how did you get in here?" Green sighed, rubbing his temple. "The door is locked and has an anti-eavesdropping spell on it, plus another charm to secure the lock against mages."

Aquamarine opened his mouth to speak, but he found that he couldn't.

Green rolled his eyes, sensing the magic energy blocking the sound coming from his son's mouth. "It's not a high level enchantment, nor a particularly well-cast one. You can break it."

After struggling with the energy a bit, Aquamarine finally managed to break the spell. "Princess Topaz dragged me here!" he gasped out, pointing at a statue.

"Looks like my brother-in-law isn't the only one who needs to control his children, hmm...?" Silver murmured, glancing at the queen.

Crystal huffed. "She and her brother take far too much after their father." Storming over to the statue (which had developed quite a lot of sweat drops on it), she shoved it out of the way. Her daughter lay halfway into a trapdoor.

"...Hello," the princess said sheepishly.

But before the queen and advisor could scold their kids, a guard knocked on the door. "THE PATROLS AT THE OCEAN BORDER HAVE SPOTTED SOMETHING! THEIR COMMUNICATIONS SORCEROR HAS REPORTED THAT THE MERFOLK ARE FLYING!"

Aquamarine really wished he had been wrong.

 **Copper: Good morning/afternoon/evening/night. The next chapter will probably be better.**

 **Petal: ...says Copper, not Petal. Please review!**


	15. Chapter of Cliffies

**Petal: Terribly sorry about the lack of chapter last week! DX**

 **Copper: School is school.**

 **Petal: Unfortunately. Anyway, we're back with chapter fifteen! We don't own Pokemon, Eleanor, Rosa, Nicholas, the smiley face pillow (if anyone gets the allusion, I think I'm going to cry with joy...), 700, Leon, Genevieve, Kara, Natalie, Mithril, or Will.**

 _Eleanor felt a tugging that was more than how much her partner weighed. "...Oh dear..." And before she had time to secure herself to something, she was pulled down the hole as well._

 _"Eleanor!" Lustrous exclaimed in panic, reaching for the other's hand._

 _"No, don't-!"_

 _They connected._

 _"...Shoot. Well, all for one and one for all..."_

 _And then they, too, were swallowed by the darkness of the pit._

"Now what?!" Lustrous screeched, clinging to the older girl like a burr as they plummeted downwards.

"Now we try to get down to Nicholas, or at least Rosa!" Eleanor declared.

"Without dying, right?!" Lustrous added.

"We won't die!" Eleanor insisted. "But yes, we'll do our best to avoid that. Hold on tight, please!" Then she placed one hand in front of the other, basically climbing the rope (though they were going down). Hopefully Rosa hadn't let go of it...

The other end of the rope whizzed past them. Looks like she did.

" _Now_ what?" Lustrous repeated, this time with a deadpan.

Eleanor giggled nervously. "Well... I could return Rosa..." Pulling out her pokeball, she aimed it down the abyss. "Rosa, return!" The red beam of light plunged down into the darkness, faintly illuminating interesting-looking rock formations.

Lustrous clutched Eleanor's shirt more tightly. "...Do those look like warped, petrified human bodies to you?" she asked tremulously. Bold and determined she may have been, but she was still young and had been raised in a peaceful existence.

"It's alright," Eleanor said encouragingly, reaching down- or rather, up- to pat the younger girl's head reassuringly. "Rocks are just weird sometimes." She prayed that the other would believe her- she wasn't entirely sure if she was right. After all, holes in the middle of a forest were never a good thing, and they had been falling for quite some time. It was likely that they would hit the bottom with a sickening _SPLAT_ , but she couldn't focus on that now, and she needed to keep Lustrous unfearful in case the end really came. _Come on, Eleanor, be positive, be positive, be positive, you're known for your positivity, postive, positive, positive..._ she chanted to herself.

Then a faint _FLUMPF_ came from below. Pit bottom confirmed. An eerie glimmer of cyan light could be seen.

"THE END IS NEAR!" Eleanor and Lustrous screamed, one with optimistic excitement, the other in horror.

"We're gonna diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!" Lustrous wailed.

"N-No we-"

"Yes, we are! I may not be the smartest person, but I'm no idiot! We've accelerated way too much to not turn into gory organ pancakes on impact!" she interrupted.

"True, but-"

"WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

But they didn't.

Instead of splatting into the ground like a bug-type on a windshield, they felt a gentle buffet of wind against them. Lustrous frowned in confusion. "What...?"

"See? I told you we'd be fine!" Eleanor exclaimed delightedly as another buffet hit them, this one a bit more powerful than the last. The wind gradually continued to grow stronger, allowing them to get used to it instead of crushing them between it and gravity, and when they were no longer falling at an alarmingly fast rate, it died down, and they fell down with a _FLUMPF_.

"Shnooooooooore..."

Eleanor's head shot up. "NICHOLAS!" she cried, scrambling over in the direction she heard the noise. Upon arrival, she squished him in a hug. "I knew you'd be okay!" Rosa gave her an 'I'm here, too' deadpan.

Lustrous stared blankly into space, her jaw hanging limp. "We... survived?" she breathed, getting the body part back into working order. "...We survived! LOOKIT THAT! WE SURVIVED!" She began to laugh crazily in relief.

Eleanor lightly slapped her cheeks- when had she gotten back?- and brought her back before she went nuts. "Yes, we did, and I know you're relieved, but please calm down for a minute! Look around!"

Lustrous did as she was ordered and glanced around their landing pad. "...Pillows?"

"Pillows," Eleanor confirmed.

And indeed, they were surrounded by pillows of every shape and color. Squarical ones, round ones, cylindrical ones, triangular ones, even a Pacman one. Some had frills, others were plain, and there were cotton balls sewn around the edges of a few. Yellow polka-dots, blue clouds, red flowers, green stripes, you name it; there were multiple designs. No two pillow was the same. A majority of the puffy life-savers were based on pokemon patterns. A thumbs-up pilllow was giving them a thumbs up!

"...That one's a little creepy," Lustrous muttered, chucking a round yellow pillow with a large white grin and plush tentacles sewn on the bottom at it to cover it up.

Eleanor shrugged. "Anyway, these pillows saved our lives!"

"No, the wind did," Lustrous corrected her. "The pillows just cushioned our fall."

"...Must you be so nit-picky?"

"Sorry."

Eleanor sighed and accepted the apology. "What we've got to find out is where we are... and how to get back up."

"We're in The Minions' Union Base, also known as The Base," Nicholas murzled, popping up from under a pile of pillows.

"Nicholas!" Eleanor exclaimed, startled. "How'd you-?"

Nicholas simply pointed as he took advantage of Eleanor's height to plop a pillow on her head and his chin on top of that. Eleanor followed the direction of his finger and saw a golden plaque that was illuminated by mushrooms glowing with a blue-green tinge.

 _The Minions' Union Base_

 _(To Be Shortened to The Base)_

 _Honorary Members:_

 _700~Leon~Genevieve~Kara~Natalie~Mithril_

"Shouldn't the names be Kevin, Stuart, and Bob?" Eleanor asked confusedly. Never one to miss the opportunity to cause comic relief, Lustrous whacked her on the head with a paper fan. Nicholas and the pillow slid off from the sudden movement.

"Wrong universe!" she scolded. Then she looked around. "But... this place is pretty impressive. What slowed our fall? Why are there so many pillows here? And most importantly..." Her face took on a stormy, aggravated look. " _Why_ in the name of _all_ that is good and _holy_ did they build the entrance in the _middle of a freaking forest_?!"

"Yeah, that _is_ irresponsible," Eleanor commented.

" _More_ than irresponsible!" Lustrous yelled back.

"Hey, what's *yawn* this?"

Both girls turned to look at Nicholas, who was swaying in front of a strange machine. Eleanor leaped over to steady him and keep him from literally falling (it seemed she had forgotten that there were pillows everywhere) asleep, and Lustrous rushed over to examine it. "What is this thing?" she wondered.

The machine in question had multiple buttons and levers that resembled red joysticks, and there was an intricate keyboard with Chinese characters with the letters of European languages squished into a corner next to them. There was masking tape beneath each joystick that labeled their uses in neat, precise handwriting- 'Emergency Wind Landing', 'Ice Cream Dispenser', 'Hot Chocolate Dispenser', 'Surveillance Camera Power', 'Back to The Hideout', and 'Pillow Design Dispenser' (this one was accompanied by a green button reading 'Design a Pillow'). There were more buttons that said 'ATM' and 'Surveillance Cameras'. Lustrous pressed the camera button and saw the forest surrounding the hole they had fallen through and the inside of the base.

"...Hey, Eleanor?" Lustrous asked again. "What is this?"

The other girl looked up from the old-fashioned gumball machine that was placed next to the control machine. "Oh, it appears to be like the technology the ninja corps have." She pulled the camera power lever, shutting off the image on the screen. "There we go! Hmm... Maybe we should smash it to keep it from proving we were here..."

"Yeah, probably," Lustrous agreed.

"...But maybe we could try to hack into the system and look at the old footage," Eleanor continued.

"...How?"

Eleanor grinned. "We'll figure it out somehow!"

Lustrous facevaulted at her boundless optimism.

"In all honesty, though, all the ninja have been taught basic hacking skills," Eleanor chuckled. "You know, in case other countries have technology as advanced as ours. Still, I'm sure this place is supposed to be a secret- I doubt there's a password. We just need to figure out how to use it."

After quite a bit of experimentation, they managed to figure out how to look over pre-recorded footage.

"Why the _heck_ did it have to be in Chinese?!" Lustrous huffed, glaring furiously at the buttons.

Eleanor shrugged. "At least we did it, right?" she asked cheerfully, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Yeah, but..."

"Don't sweat the small stuff or you'll go bald," Nicholas murzled with a yawn. Lustrous shot him an annoyed glare.

Eleanor, in the meantime, was watching the footage. Her eyes widened when she realized that four of the people in the footage looked like the people who had blown up the castle wall and started arguing with Kaz. They were presumably enemies, so she slid a flash drive into the USB slot and began to download the video so it could be studied later. There were two others, but her eyes were drawn to the male. He looked like Kaz. Their faces had similar shapes, but what stood out most to her were his eyes- they were the exact same shape and color as the senior ninja. Could this be the 'Benjen' Kaz had been searching for...?

Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to ponder the subject, because Nicholas slipped. He managed to catch himself without much trouble, but Lustrous didn't know that would happen, and she scrambled backwards so he wouldn't crash into her. In doing so, she tripped over a pillow and crashed herself, sending up a shower of more pillows, one of which turned out to be a Chinese rock pillow, and thus was heavy enough to push the lever it landed on.

Which of course turned out to be the 'Back to The Hideout' lever.

Eleanor had just enough time to pull the flash drive back out before a previously unseen hidden door opened in the wall and sucked them all in.

* * *

Lapis and Grisseo had eventually consented to allow Lukree to guide them to Mount Silver. However, the group had gone not more than two steps before a Swellow heavily adorned with frills and jewels wobbled to a landing in front of them.

"Mus' be my pa," Lapis muttered, picking up the bird pokemon and slipping the letter off of its leg.

" 'Lapis, return to the castle. Konton's preparing for war with the merfolk. Get yourself assigned a guard position near home. From Garnet.' Huh," Lapis mused, "Looks like bro borrowed pa's messenger Swellow."

"Wait, you have a brother?" Grisseo asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but he's so condescending even though he's younger," Lapis complained. "I had to leave."

 _'Pardon my interruption, but are you planning to fight another country looking like_ that _?'_ Lukree asked.

Lapis looked down at himself, as pink as the day he set out. "Nope! We'll hafta hurry to Mount Silver, cuz there ain't no way I'm goin' ta war like this!"

He took a piece of bark, scrawled down a quick 'Doing something important. A week at the least,' ripped off the jewels and frills, and handed his letter to Swellow, who gratefully recieved it and flew away.

 _' "Ain't no way" is a double negative,'_ Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation, apprentice grammarian of the King pointed out.

"Shuddup," Lapis muttered. They continued along for some time in silence before they smashed into something invisible.

"Ow! What wuzzat?" Lapis exxclaimed.

"Lukree! Why didn't you warn us?!" Grisseo demanded.

 _'Auravision can't see everything! Even if I_ am _Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation, I can't see things with no life energy!'_

"Come on, can't you at least see a GIANT INVISIBLE WALL RIGHT IN FRONT OF US?!" Grisseo shouted.

 _'Let me focus! It has an extremely faint aura, almost like a Protect that has been sustained for hundreds of years. It feels... anger, and fear. Whoever put it up must have been running away from something. It's weak enough that we might be able to break it.'_

As soon as he heard that, Lapis perked up. He pulled out his full arsenal and tossed it at the wall.

Too many bombs make a very big bang.

However, not a scratch was created in the wall, though it became visible as a shimmering dome for a short period.

"Wha- Nuthin'?!" Lapis shouted in outrage.

"Hai-yah!" Grisseo brought the Staff down on the same spot that Lapis attacked, but still nothing happened.

 _'Aura-boosted Brick Break!'_ Lukree howled, karate-chopping the dome as hard as she could.

The resounding _THUD!_ was heard many miles away, but the dome was intact as ever.

 _'Impossible,'_ scoffed Lukree. _'That technique could have shattered diamond!'_

She was cradling her bruised right paw with her left.

"No! It can't end here! I hafta get ta the top! I REFUSE to stay like this fer an entire month!" Lapis yelled. "Eno, use Shadow Ball!"

His Mightyena leaped out of its pokeball with Shadow Ball already fully charged.

The boom was loud, but the dome remained intact.

"Argh! Now wut?" Lapis demanded, pulling his hair in frustration.

Grisseo snapped his fingers. "That's right! I have the perfect Pokemon for dealing with this situation! Go, #IHateGarconMorris!"

The Noivern erupted out of its Pokeball with a flourish.

" '#IHateGarconMorris'?" Lapis asked with a raised eyebrow.

 _' "#IHateGarconMorris"?'_ Lukree asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This annoying guy in a restaurant I met while trying to pick up some cash. Long story," Grisseo muttered. "Anyway, #IHateGarconMorris here has Infiltrator, which means he can bypass Protect!" Grisseo announced proudly. "Now go, #IHateGarconMorris!"

The Noivern sighed but went through the barrier nonetheless.

"I attached a collar to him that acts like a surveillance camera. Now let's see what's causing this Protect," Grisseo chuckled sinisterly, holding up his watch and projecting the images from the camera.

Once #IHateGarconMorris made it to the lair of the beast, the view fizzed into static

* * *

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked, trotting after her friend.

"Lyra-sempai's friends with a villain?!" Will gawked.

Ethan elbowed him. "Shhh! You aren't supposed to see the 'friend' bit! Quiet down before the authors notice and throw another rock at us!" he hissed. Will clapped a hand over his mouth and nodded obediently. After all, this was the first personality, and the first personality was not a masochist.

" _We_ are not going anywhere," Lyra said calmly, ignoring the two behind her. " _I_ am going back to the castle in hopes of finding and reporting to my father, and _those two_ are following me. _You_ are not-" She stopped abruptly. "...Scratch that. _You_ are coming with _me_..."

Natalie's jaw dropped. Lyra actually valued their friendship?!

"...as a hostage!" She quickly bound the older girl in strong rope. "And you _will_ reveal all of The Boss's secrets and plans before we have to use the torture chamber, because the torture chamber smells bad, and the interrogator is a total creep who I would rather not deal with and _you_ definitely don't want to."

...Never mind. She didn't value their friendship at all. "You're cruel, Ly," Natalie complained mournfully.

"Don't call Lyra cruel!" Ethan yelled. "...Even if she is sometimes."

"Yeah," Will agreed. "I'm sorry, sempai, but... you can be a little hard-hearted..."

Lyra just scoffed and kept walking.

Natalie, on the other hand, was confuzzled. Why were these guys such good friends now?!

* * *

"Kaz has been gone for a while now," Mithril mused. "I'm gonna go look for her."

But before she could get up, Adamant shoved a plate of cream-filled doughnuts in her face. "It's a new recipe. Would you taste-test it for me?" he requested. Mithril was startled by the request, but accepted nevertheless. She supposed she could search for Kaz later...

* * *

"HRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAH!" Kaz lopped off another innocent tree branch. Her Gengar watched from a shadow, wary now that his trainer was in a grief-fueled rage. All the other creatures in the forest had been scared away by the bloodlust radiating from her, so the only things she could use for target practice were her partner and the vegetation. Fortunately, Gengar was intelligent and hid- he entertained no illusions that his brutal trainer wouldn't hesitate. "RAH! YAH! GUAHH!" Kaz screamed, tears coursing down her cheeks as she continued to use the trees as fodder. Why had she agreed to tell that idiotic girl her story? Oh yes, for the same reason she was crying.

Benjen.

She felt it would have been far easier to torture and slowly kill the girl, but a nagging feeling told her that the child was one of those idealistic idiots who wouldn't betray a comrade even in death, and then her best lead would have disappeared. Fortunately, that same idiocy was what would allow her to manipulate her. Kaz knew what effect the telling of the tragedy had on Mithril- she had seen it firsthand. The kid was bawling her eyes out. Unfortunately, the same could be said for Kaz herself.

She viciously stabbed a trunk, then yanked out her knife and watched as the sap oozed out.

That childhood trauma had led to what she was today. A monster.

But that wasn't what bothered her, oh no. She _enjoyed_ being a monster. Her unrelenting drive to find her brother and her antipathy to everyone and everything else was one of the reasons why she was so strong. No, it _was_ the reason she was so strong. Without being hard-hearted and determined, she doubted she would have been able to go through the demonic training she had done to attain her power. She wouldn't have even joined the ninja squad- she would have remained an empty husk, a doll, taken in by her relatives and raised to smile and converse with others and drifting through the life without purpose. Or worse... she _would_ be happy, living until adulthood in a caring, nurturing environment, getting over or completely forgetting about Benjen. She would find a nice man, marry him, have a family, and live with contentment to a ripe old age, passing peacefully in her sleep.

All while Benjen suffered.

She had seen the state he was in when she encountered him in Ecruteak. He had changed just as much as she had. Benjen, who had always seen the best in people and despised harming others, had wanted a man to be killed. Yes, she had carried out the deed; it was what she did; she was an assassin... But it was a harsh blow of the thrice-accursed fates. She knew the kind child she had grown up with was in there somewhere- he wouldn't have cried otherwise- but he was changed.

Maybe this was a good thing, she thought idly, cutting down a sapling. She had grown into a fighting machine, and presumably, so had he. Both of them had changed, and the changes were the same, if not similar. She would miss who he had been, but time takes its toll, and he would be able to defend himself now. Still, there was always the chance that he would revert to his old self, and she dearly wished for the chance to be raised to a hundred percent. She couldn't even imagine what that evil kidnapper had done to her baby brother to cause such a change- and he hadn't even consciously recognized her.

Kaz was no fool, nor was she delusional. She had created a mental list of all the horrid things that could have happened to him, and brain washing and memory erasure were quite prominent in it. He definitely knew who she was somewhere deep down, but he didn't actually acknowledge it. The recognition was only faint, and the main things she had seen in his eyes were confusion and pain.

Kaz put down her knife and dried her eyes. Relieved that the fit was over, Gengar materialized out of the shadows and handed her a damp cloth to wash her face with. She sighed. "Benjen, what happened to you...?"

* * *

"The first thing that needs to be improved is your stance," Leon said. "Whenever you fight, you take 1 second to go into a fighting crouch. You should be able to attack from any position." A tree was cut in two. "Like that."

Orange blinked. He hadn't even seen Leon move. "Wha- How'd you do that?" Orange asked.

"I just attacked the tree from a walking position," Leon replied dismissively. "Any true swordsman should be able to do that."

"Wow..." Orange breathed. "My turn!"

Orange started walking and suddenly swung out with the broadsword Leon had given him.

Unfortunately, he let go.

The sharp blade should have carved a path of death through the forest, but Orange had somehow managed to throw it so that it richocheted off of the trees with its hilt. Soon it had disappeared from sight.

"Aah! I'm so sorry!" Orange exclaimed. "I'll go get it right away!"

He immediately dashed off into the forest.

Leon sighed. This was worse than he'd thought. In the split second before his grip failed, Orange's body must have twisted the sword so it would launch in a generally harmless way. Leon did not even consider the fact that maybe it was just coincidence.

"Leon," Kara interrupted, snapping him out of his thinking. "We'd better look for him. I don't want to be the one who fails to do what The Boss wants to be done."

Leon nodded. "We'll have a better chance of finding him if we split up."

Kara and Leon went their separate ways to search for Orange. Kara waited for several minutes to let Leon get far away before pulling out a communication crystal. "Queen Crystal," she muttered.

A few minutes passed before the queen's weary face came into view. "What is it, Kara? I really hope you have some good news for me."

Kara sighed. "There's good news and bad news."

"Bad news first," Crystal replied immediately.

Kara nodded. "I'm escorting Orange to Mt. Silver with one of The Boss's minions. The Boss is going to rendezvous with us there, and I can only imagine that he plans to take Firestar."

Crystal's face sagged even more. "I see. The good news?"

"For some reason, The Boss has decided that Leon should train Orange. Leon takes his orders seriously, so he most likely will teach Orange all that he can before we reach Mt. Silver."

Crystal nodded. "That's good. Anything else?"

Kara shrugged. "Well, you know where The Boss will be in a few days, so you can send Captain Silver to-"

"Not an option," Crystal cut in.

"Why not?" asked Kara confusedly.

"Not only will Silver probably lose," Crystal explained, "but we also need as much defense around the castle as possible right now."

"You can't spare _anyone_? What's going on over there?" Kara wondered.

Crystal uttered a deep sigh. "The merfolk are coming, and they're coming for war."

Before Kara could ask Crystal to elaborate, a hand covered her mouth with a rag. In the split second before she fell asleep, Kara cut off the communications.

* * *

Leon had searched far and wide, but he hadn't found Orange yet. Hundreds of apples and plenty of pears, but no Orange.

Orange was looking for the sword, but he had managed to turn around sometime and was heading in the opposite direction.

Chu was happily munching on aforementioned apples and pears.

* * *

Lorelei cackled in glee. This charm was magnificent! Soon, Konton would be in ruins, and her glorious sea kingdom the greatest of all!

A chibi Lorelei with horn, a pitchfork, and a pointed tail cackled on her right shoulder, egging her on.

"Murder is good!" it whispered in her ear. "Murder is great! Murder them now so we aren't too late!"

A chibi Lorelei with angel wings popped up on her other shoulder.

"No! Don't kill them! You have plenty of treasure! You don't need any more!"

Then a chibi Lorelei adorned with pearls and other riches popped onto her head. "Wait! Just kill the _castle_ , and insert yourself onto the throne! If you leave the peasant farmers alone, _their_ hard work will soon become _your_ riches!"

Lorelei nodded. There was no reason to pick a fight with the plebes; her only priority was those peasants at the castle!

Right.

Change of plans.

 **Petal: So many cliffies! :D**

 **Copper: Cliffies are cliffies.**

 **Petal: Unfortunately. Anyway, please review!**

 **Copper: Reviews are reviews.**


	16. The Boss is Afraid

**,Petal: Helloooooooo! Welcome to this weeks chapter!**

 **Copper: SW2SA**

 **Petal: ...?**

 **Copper: Developments happen in this chapter!**

 **Petal: Indeed they do! We don't own Pokemon, Kara, Leon, Natalie, Mithril, Kaz, Eleanor, 700, Nicholas, Genevieve, or Will.**

 _Before Kara could ask Crystal to elaborate, a hand covered her mouth with a rag. In the split second before she fell asleep, Kara cut off the communications._

Kara awoke some time later. What had happened? She had been knocked out with a cloth... chloroform? Not many people in Konton opted for sneaky rather than bam. Had they seen her conversation with the queen? Hopefully it wasn't one of The Minions. Kara shuddered at the thought of what The Boss would do to her if he found out that she was a spy.

Then she heard cackling.

"Kla kla kla, we caught 'er! That Sleep Powder worked great! It was worth catchin' that Gloom!" a voice cackled. Gloom? So that's how they had caught her.

"But wouldn't it have been easier to just knock 'er out?" a second voice chimed in.

"Don't be stupid, m'bros! Sleep Powder makes us more sophis... sophistick... so fish sticks ated!" a third voice declared.

Kara resisted the urge to facepalm. She tentatively slid her eyes open a fraction. Three bandits. That explained that.

"Hey, how much d'you think we can sell that purdy gem she had for?" Bandit #1 asked.

Kara looked closer and saw that they had her communication crystal. Not good. Then she noticed that they also had her rapier. Even worse.

"Go check if she's up yet," Bandit #3 ordered.

"No need to do that, I'm awake," Kara called. She had already loosened her ropes and was ready to escape at a moment's notice. "Also, you might want to let go of that sword. It's a bomb."

She concentrated her magic on her sword and willed it to transform into a bomb, and it did-albeit without a fuse. But bandits aren't renowned for their intelligence, and the one holding the weapon hastily tossed it away. Just what she had wanted.

Kara slipped out of her bindings and lunged for her weapon, turning it back into a sword in her hand. She took on a battle stance as the bandits pulled out some weaponry of their own. Kara noted the fairly hefty-looking axes and evaluated her odds. A three-on-one fight she would normally lose, but she might be able to hit the axes hard enough to knock them away. On the other hand, she could easily outrun these stupid bandits and get away that way. But she still needed the communicrystal... She decided to try negotiations first.

"Listen, bandits. Even if you capture me, my companions will find me. Orange is twice as strong as me, and Leon, ten times. I suggest you return my 'purdy gem' and leave with your lives."

"Hey, m'bros, if she has two companions who are two and ten times stronger than her, doesn't that add up to... 210 times?! I think we should agree with her terms," Bandit #1 said.

"No way!" Bandits #2 and 3 exclaimed simultaneously. "She said Leon! That's th' guy who messed up our faces!"

Bandit#1 nodded. "Oh yeah, I didn't realize! Well," here he addressed Kara, "looks like yer plum outta luck!"

Kara sighed. Now it was run or fight. Choices, choices...

Her choice was made for her as Orange leaped out of the bushes, waving Rusty around like a madman.

"Kara! We came to save you!" he proclaimed proudly. "We found Leon's sword and came for you!"

"..." Leon nodded a he dropped from a tree. Regarding his enemies, his jaw hit the ground very uncharacteristically,.

"I killed you," he accused, pointing at Bandit #1. "And you." Bandit #2. "And I'm pretty sure Natalie killed you." Bandit #3.

"NATA-BOO-BOO-POOKIE-PIE!" Bandit #3 wailed. "I'M SURE SHE WAS JUST TELLING ME THAT SHE LOVED ME, I'M SURE OF IT!"

"Uh, yes, sure," Kara replied, somewhat disoriented. Looking closer, she realized that it was, in fact, the same man who had captured her squad on their journey to the castle.

"Anyhoo, now it's time to get our revenge on you for messin' up our faces! Get 'im, m'bros!"

"Right. Orange, this is your first test. Defeat them and kill them."

"Leon? Orange? Shouldn't we be more concerned with how they came back to life?" Kara demanded.

For all of 30 seconds, Orange and Leon were engaged in "epic combat" against the "formidable" bandit brothers! Naturallly, the bandits lost and Leon tied them up.

"Orange. Kill them," he ordered.

"I can't!" Orange protested. "I would never kill a defenseless opponent!"

Leon sighed. "Fine," He indicated Bandit #3. "I'll let this guy go in an enclosed space. _Then_ you fight him and kill him."

"No!" Orange protested again. "That would be just like a gladiator fight, and I learned in school that gladiator fights were bloody massacres to entertain the twisted masses! I thought you were better than this!"

"...Let's work on this another time," Kara suggested. "See if we can find a place to leave these buffoons and continue on to Mount Silver."

"...Fine," Leon relented.

And they continued on to Mount Silver!

* * *

"State your names and businesses," came a flat voice.

Eleanor blinked her eyes open. She remembered being sucked up a hidden passageway, and then... nothing. She must have passed out. Suddenly, she was acutely aware of the face hovering above her.

Or rather, the eyes on the face.

"...Benjen?" she guessed.

All of a sudden, she found a knife held to her throat. "How do you know that name," the man hissed. It wasn't a question. It was a demand. He was _demanding_ for her to tell him.

A drop of sweat slid down Eleanor's face as she wracked her brain for what to do. She was one of the best at knife-throwing, but her close combat skills weren't quite up to par. Plus, he was armed, and she couldn't feel the comforting presence of her weapon pouch. Answering him honestly might be the best course of action, but what if he reacted negatively? She had heard of how he fled from Kaz-he might kill her for knowing her.

"Answer me," he said forcefully, causing her to flinch and make a split second decision.

"Your sister told me!" She soon wished she hadn't said that.

"I don't have a sister!" he screamed at her, pressing the knife closer to her neck. "I don't! I don't! I DON'T!"

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell this certainly wasn't good. There was always a chance that things would get better, but, well... When one is tied up with a knife pressed to one's neck, that tends to make optimism difficult. Eleanor briefly wondered if this was going to be the end of her life, but she quickly dismissed the thought. She could sense Nicholas and Lustrous's presences not too far away, as well as an unknown one, and she was certain Lustrous was an earlier riser than her-if the other girl was still alive despite being even more likely to tick off a captor, it was likely they were going to be used as hostages or informants or something of that ilk before being killed off.

She was proven correct when a woman with silver hair slammed open the door.

"700! What are you doing?!" she demanded. "These guys are ninja! The Boss won't be happy if we kill potential informants!"

"We only need one," the man growled, making a thin slice in Eleanor's neck. The woman gulped as blood rose and trickled down it. "The other can just die."  
700's comrade looked irritated. "For all we know, they could be in different units and have different information. Geez, the one time you actually show emotion is the one time it wouldn't be beneficial." She tried to pull him off of Eleanor. "Get off of her and deal with the interrogation in the other room-both blonde brats are getting on my nerves. I'll deal with this one."

700 refused to budge. "No."

"Do I have to alert The Boss?" she threatened.

That sentence seemed to trigger something within 700, and he immediately shrank back, retracting his knife and backing away from Eleanor. "...No. No." Muttering to himself, he left the room.

"He's been jumpy ever since that mission in Ecruteak," the woman mused. "This might finally be my chance to gain The Boss's favor..."

"Good luck!" Eleanor exclaimed cheerfully.

The woman responded with a glare. "You. Shut up," she snarled. "Tell me what you know, _now_."

"Nope!"

The woman glared at her. "I suppose it's to the torture chamber, then."

"I suppose so," Eleanor agreed, drumming her fingers behind one of her ears.

* * *

 _Bip bip! Bip bip! Bip bip!_

"Great," Lyra deadpanned. "What _now_?"  
"It looks like you've got a message, Lyra-sempai," Will observed.

"That was a rhetorical question," she snapped, pulling out her earpiece and pressing a button.

"What's going on?" Ethan whispered to Will.

"It's an emergency communication device for the ninja," the younger explained quietly. "Using a series of taps to that earpiece, a ninja can create a message that is then sent to the captain and assistant captain. The device looks like a cartilage piercing, so it's often overlooked by enemies."

"So then... why didn't Ly use it?" Ethan asked, bewildered.

"Hmm... That's a good question. There must have been something blocking the transmission at the time," Will mused.

* * *

Up on Mt. Silver, The Boss sneezed.

"My, my, mighty chilly up here, isn't it?" The Boss commented, warming his legs under a _kotatsu_.

* * *

ELEANOR NICHOLAS CAPTURED THE BOSS HIDEOUT AGENT 700 MAYBE BENJEN the message said.

Lyra frowned. "Tch. Those two have been captured by The Boss? But why...?" she muttered.

"Well, it's not necessarily The Boss," Natalie interjected. "The message says 700."

"That would make things even _more_ confusing," Lyra snapped back. "That guy would have no reason whatsoever to kidnap them. He's The Boss's trusted puppet." Darn it, she really didn't want to go back there... Deciding it would be best to get back to the castle quickly and rely on the captain's guidance, she ordered the group to speed up.

* * *

The man, nay, devil in disguise reached toward the cowering Benjen, who was bravely trying to put on a smile. As soon as he touched him, poor Benjen collapsed, as anyone would have. The man regarded the village, smirked, and began stalking away. Kaz wanted to chase after him with every fiber of her being, but she couldn't even move. As the man and Benjen drew nearer to the horizon, her despair grew greater and greater. Soon enough, they disappeard from sight completely, and the village children could do nothing but watch as the sweetest little boy in the history of the universe was dragged away, no doubt to be tortured and killed.

After Benjen disappeared, the village was in an uproar. Everyone did their level best to get him back. They sent out search party after search party, neglecting their work in panic. When they still could not find a trace of him, they notified the authorities-surely the castle's not-ninja squad could find the missing child. He couldn't have been the only one kidnapped by such a suspicious character! Unfortunately, despite the best efforts from the squad's search and rescue unit, he remained nowhere to be found.

When the village realized that he was gone for good, they grew dreary and lifeless. No longer did their little ray of sunshine grace them with his cheerful smile. No longer did his laughter ring through the air with the other children's. No longer did he find those at the very pit of their lives, take them by the hand, and pull them back out with encouraging words and a gentle, understanding smile.

The ones who took it the hardest were, predictably, his family. His parents forced down the tears that were always threatening to arise, putting on brave faces for their remaining child. His father threw himself into his work to distract himself from grief, even doing hunting for families that were struggling, and his mother spent even more time looking after her remaining child. Kaz blamed herself for letting the awful man take her brother, and she withdrew into a depressed shell. For a whole week, she wouldn't eat. She barely drank. She remained curled up in a ball under her blanket, mumbling quiet words of self-deprecation. "You're a failure," she'd tell herself. "You let him get away. What kind of sister are you. You're the older sibling. You're supposed to protect him." Finally, on the seventh day, she forced herself back out into society-she knew Benjen wouldn't have wanted her to shut herself off from anyone. "Make everyone happy in my place," she could hear him telling her. "It's the only way." The only way for what, she did not know. Regardless, she got into the habit of always smiling and speaking kindly, cordially. But her smiles never reached her empty eyes, and her tone was so sweet they might as well have been poison.

As for the rest of the village, they moved on, as humans do. The pain in their hearts dulled over time, and while they missed and mourned Benjen, smiles and laughter gradually came back to their lives. Kaz was disgusted by this. Why were they not paying respects everyday to the bodiless grave that had been made for him? Why were they able to laugh without care? But she, too, smiled and laughed. She knew her parents were almost as anguished as her, and she attempted to ease the pain for them as she knew Benjen would had their positions been reversed.

After half a year had passed, a plague reached the village. The castle's healers did their best, but the village was at the edge of the kingdom-by the time they arrived, many had died. Kaz's mother was among them.

Kaz fell once again into depression. To distract himself from his grief over the loss of his wife, Kaz's father spent all of his time hunting again. This time, however, Kaz did not have her mother to remind her of the good of humanity. She picked herself back up once more, but she was not quite the same-she laughed and smiled again, but all the time rather than at appropriate ones. At times, some people noticed that her supposed cheerfulness bordered on mania.

The final straw was when her father got into an accident with a wild boar and died. At that, something within her just snapped.

She was the only one left.

Her brother was probably dead, and both her parents had passed onto the afterlife. There was nothing left for her in the village now. Her mother's relatives from the next village over were coming to adopt her, but that didn't matter. She had already made up her mind. She packed up her belongings, her father's savings, dried food, and her younger brother's beloved Gengar plush toy, her resolve unwavering. Then she picked up her father's weapons, bade farewell to the village, and left for the capital. Knowing that as a ten-year-old, she would be slower than the adults (not to mention she didn't have the advantage of a Ponyta or Blitzle evolution line), she kept to the forest, hiding in spots where only a child could. Once she was certain she was far enough away from the village, she used the money she had brought to pay for a trader's wagon to allow her to hang on until the capital. Upon arriving at the castle, she signed up for the castle's not-ninja squad, swearing to use the training and connections that came along with it to track down and kill the man who had killed Benjen and begun a chain reaction of grief.

It had been one year since the disappearance of Benjen, and Kaz had changed.

A few years after she completed her training, she was mugging someone in a tavern for information about the man. Suddenly, she saw a boy a couple of years younger than her, just the age Benjen would be were he still alive. She felt a pang in her heart. He looked an awful lot like him, too. Then the pang strengthened, and she realized the boy _was_ Benjen. She attempted to make her way over to him, but Benjen did not seem to recognize her; he turned and fled. His sister's priorities in that instant changed from killing the kidnapper to finding Benjen. She abandoned her mission and went after Benjen in whole-hearted pursuit.

* * *

"And that's what happened," Kaz finished, taking a sip of tea.

"THAT'S AWFUL!" Mithril wailed. Adamant helpfully offered her a handkerchief. "Who could do such a thing to a poor, innocent family!"

Kaz smiled at her. It was the smile of the devil. "Oh, I don't know. Your boss, perhaps?!"

"I w-wouldn't put it past him," Mithril sniffled, blowing her nose.

"So what are you going to do?" Adamant asked suddenly. When the other two cast him questioning looks, he continued, "What are you going to do, Mithril? Remember what I said before. Evil people cause tragedies like this. Is that really what you want to do? You have to choose, Mithril. Become an evil boss and cause tragedies, or become a hero and save others from these tragedies."

"But-" she began, still pensive.

"Your conversation is _very_ fascinating," Kaz interrupted, "but you have to tell me where Benjen is now."  
"He's in a castle called The Hideout," Mithril said quickly. "It's surrounded by slugs."

"And where _is_ the castle?" Kaz asked, one hand straying to the pouch of weapons in her kimono.

"I'll show you the way." Mithril's eyes burned into Kaz's. "And you'll defeat The Boss... right?"

Kaz dropped her hand and tsked. "Exactly who do you think I am? He kidnapped by baby brother. Therefore, he must die. Let's go." And with that, the group set off.

"You never answered my question, Mithril," Adamant murmured from his position at the back of the group. Still, he had a feeling he knew what her decision was. Anyone could see from the now-determined squaring of her shoulders and the decisive glint in her eyes that she had come to a conclusion if her demand for Kaz to defeat The Boss wasn't enough proof. Being turned back from being pink could wait. He needed to see the end of the ordeal.

 _I won't become like him_ , Mithril thought determinedly. _I won't. The cook kid is right. I don't want to cause that kind of sadness. I'll start my own organization, a completely different one. I'll still take over the world, but I'll do it_ my _way,_ without _needlessly ending the lives of innocent people._

* * *

"ARGH! I KNEW I SHOULDNT'VE BOUGHT IT FROM THE DISCOUNT SECTION!" Grisseo screamed, looking at the static screen.

"Jus' when we were about ta see what was in da lair, too!" Lapis complained.

 _'WHAT IDIOT BUYS STUFF FROM THE DISCOUNT SECTION?!'_ Lukree howled. Hmph. She wouldn't know; she's been rich all her life... Completely clueless as to how we poorer folks shop...

The companions waited for a few moments in case the image started back up, but nothing happened.

"Poor #IHateGarconMorris," Grisseo sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "He could be being eaten by a horde of rabid Pokemon by now!"

 _'...Wait,'_ Lukree aurapathed. _'The hole in the Protect that #IHateGarconMorris left..._ it's still there _.'_

"Wait, what?" Lapis demanded. "Where is it?"

Lukree led the way to the spot, which had become invisible once more. _'Here.'_ She walked through.

Grisseo ran in after her.

Before Lapis could go in, a voice thundered.

 _WHO DARES?!_

The voice had no physical effect on the companions, but they froze in place, shivering from the raw _power_ that emanated from it.

"W-was that aurapathy?" Grisseo asked in a small voice.

"D-didn't feel like L-Lukree," muttered Lapis, who had also stepped into the barrier.

 _'Th-that wasn't aura. I th-think it was like t-telepathy,'_ stammered Lukree.

"Yeah. T-telepathy," Lapis agreed, still shaken up.

"L-let's go on," Grisseo urged. "We gotta g-get #IHateGarconMorris and f-flee."

So the companions cautiously inched their way through the terrain, Lukree trying to find the Noivern's aura. The area seemed to be completely devoid of animals or Pokemon.

 _'Over there,'_ Lukree whispered, pointing to a cave. The three sneaked into the cave and almost had heart attacks when they saw what was in there.

Grisseo's Noivern was petrified.

And laying down, with one red eye open, was the most gigantic Ninetales any of them had ever seen.

* * *

The Boss sat up abruptly. The wave of psychic energy he had just felt... There was no denying it. _She_ was awake.

"No. No!" he muttered, a hint of hysteria creeping into his voice. "I'm not ready yet! Without _it_ , _she_ will kill me before I can kill _her..._ I'll have to speed up my plans... Please, just stay asleep a little longer... I must have my revenge..."

 **Petal: Aren't you dying to know who _she_ is?**

 **Copper: A character even The Boss is afraid of. Who could _she_ be?**

 **Petal: That's what _she_ said.**

 **Copper: Also, what do you think Lapis's reaction will be?**

 **Petal: ...You ignored my joke. Q-Q Anyway... Please revie**


	17. The First Casualties?

**Copper: This was actually a considerably long chapter.**

 **Petal: Especially compared to our recent ones. Special thanks to 700 and, by extension, DeathDealer1997.**

 **Copper: All rights go to their rightful owners.**

* * *

700 slammed the door behind him. How could he have lost it like that? No, wait, he was still losing it. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself as he had seen Kara do before, usually when dealing with Mithril and Natalie. He didn't understand. How could he have lost control of his... what was the word... _emotions_? He had been taught that emotions were for the weak. Only when one mastered the mask were they allowed to put on such a farce. That was what The Boss had taught him all those years ago. And speaking of The Boss... Why was he so frightened? 700 rarely felt fear. At the very least and the very most, all he felt towards his employer was respect and obedience, not _fear_. The man was terrifying, he knew-but then, 700 also rarely did anything to raise The Boss's ire. What in the _world_ could have caused him to back off so quickly at the mere mention of his name...?

* * *

What indeed.

* * *

Eight-year-old Benjen wondered why this strange man had kidnapped him. "Mister?" he asked timidly. "Where are we?"

"Why, we're in The Hideout!" the man explained merrily. "Do you like it?"

Benjen had been taught two things in his short life: 1) smiling people tend to be good people and 2) to believe the best of people. This man was smiling, and although he had kidnapped him, Benjen hoped that he was a good person. With the reassurances of the two lessons in mind, he chirped, "It's really cool!"

The strange man continued to smile pleasantly. "That's very good, kid. Now! My name is The Boss. I give you permission to call me The Boss. Now, what's your name?"

"I'm Benjen Kaahn. It's nice to meet you," Benjen said politely as his parents had taught him.

"Good. It's important that we always communicate with each other clearly, Benjen, because you're going to be here for quite a while."

"I-I'm what...?"

The Boss's smile gained a different element from cheerfulness. Benjen had seen it on tricky merchants' faces before, though on a much smaller scale. It was... malice...? "You're staying here. It would be quite troublesome to have to teach you how the world should work in one night, after all."

After that, Benjen was subjected to mental trauma. It began with images of his village. He was shown images of his village and his family. He saw the villagers' depression, his sister's withdrawal, his parents' suppressed suffering, The Boss whispering in his ear all the while. "This is your fault, you know. If you hadn't let them grow so emotionally dependent on you, they would still be fine. Your family is suffering because of you as well. This is what happens when you form bonds with people. In the end, it will only cause suffering." It didn't end there. Day after day, The Boss brought him to places of suffering, evil, death, destruction, sin. Day after day, Benjen learned of the dark side of the world, life, and human beings. Oppression, slavery, murder, theft... The Boss seemed especially fond of bringing him to battlefields. Benjen was forced to watch people killing each other in cold blood. "Stop!" he wanted to cry. "Why can't you solve this peacefully! You're all the same! You're all human beings! Why are you fighting?!" Unfortunately, he couldn't speak. The Boss kept him trapped in a bubble of psychic energy wherever they went. He was a bystander, a spectator of the bloody battles. He was not able to interfere. Then again, what could he do even if he hadn't been trapped? It wasn't like he could hold the warring people away from each other. He had no power. He could do _nothing_. Nothing but watch. Even if he was kind and helped others, what kind of difference would that make? The darkness of the world would swallow everything anyway. For every kind person, there were a hundred more evil ones. These doubts continued eating away at him until The Boss finally drove the point home a year later.

"Face it, Benjen. You are _powerless_."

"N-No, I'm not," the boy protested weakly. "Even one kind act can save a soul, and even one saved soul can make a difference in the world..."

"Oh, but some souls are beyond saving, you know?" The Boss said merrily. At the boy's confused look, he started tittering. "Oh, you don't understand? Well, you'll see soon enough."

* * *

The next thing Benjen knew, he was standing in a forest. It was slightly changed, but he knew it was the forest where his father hunted. He briefly wondered at The Boss's words, but he quickly put it out of his mind. "Papa! _Papa_!" he called, tearing through the woods as fast as he could. If his father hadn't changed his hunting schedule, then he'd still be out here. " _Papa_!"

Soon enough, he saw the man. He looked more haggard and worse for wear than before-their were lines on his face that hadn't been there before, and there was gray in his beard and hair. His eyes had lost much of the spark that Benjen had grown up knowing, but it was clearly him. Benjen sped up. "Fath-!" He slowed again when he noticed that his father was kneeling beside a grave. Benjen read the inscription on it. " _Sarin Kaahn, XX78-XX09. A daughter, a sister, a wife, and a mother. May she rest in peace_." His eyes widened in shock. "Mama...?"  
Benjen's father started at the strange voice, shaken out of the reverie he seemed to be in. "Who are you?" he asked wearily, turning to Benjen.

The boy took a step forward and said in a broken voice, "Papa... you don't... recognize me...?"

The Benjen Mr. Kaahn remembered was a smiling little boy with full cheeks and a perpetual twinkle of vitality in his eyes, his short hair glossy but a mess. The boy he saw in front of him was thin, weak, with a gaunt face and dead-looking eyes, his hair long and rumpled. Mr. Kaahn was too tired of life now to recognize his son from the few similarities left. "I think you have the wrong person," he said dully. He moved forward. "My name is Keith. Are you lost?"

Benjen stared at his father, shocked. He really didn't recognize him. Why? That was the biggest question in his mind. Why did he not know him? Why was Mama dead? Why did he look so lifeless? Why? Why? _Why_?!

So absorbed in his thoughts was Benjen that he failed to register the sound of a boar charging behind him. Keith did, however, and pushed the child out of the way. Unfortunately, this led him to be in the boar's path himself, and Benjen watched in horror as the animal's wicked tusks pierced his father.

" _ **PAPAAAAAAAAAA**_!"

"Well? Do you see now?"

Benjen turned and saw The Boss standing behind him, a sickening grin on his face.

"Do you see?" he repeated. "Some souls are beyond saving. Your mother's already dead, but you had no idea, did you? And now your father's dead, too, and do you know why? Because of you. He went to save someone who he thought was a total stranger, and he didn't recognize you even in the end. Now that he's gone, what do you think is going to happen to your older sister? If you go back to her now, she will try to keep you safe as well. But what will happen to her then? She's only eleven, after all. How will she make her way with no profession? She could try to continue gardening as your mother did, but it would be so _easy_ for a trader to take advantage of her naivety. I predict a difficult life before her. And if you went back? What then? Her life will be even more difficult. She would surely starve in order to keep you fed."

"No... No! _Stop_!" Benjen yelled. "Stop it! I don't believe you! This is just an illusion! Mama and Papa are both alive! And sis is fine, too!"

"Believe what you will," The Boss said smugly before taking out a violin and a bow. He drew the bow across its strings in a dirge, and the boar fell dead after hearing the music. Benjen's ears rang and he felt as though his head would split apart. "Oh, don't worry. That death song was set only to kill animals and pokemon. It won't kill a human. Now, let us return to the The Hideout. I do believe it's time for afternoon tea. We could have boar cookies!"

* * *

In the months following that incident, The Boss brought Benjen back to more sites of death. The boy's heart hardened and he grew emotionless, but The Boss felt something was still missing. Suddenly, he had a wonderful idea! One night, while Benjen was asleep, he stole out of the castle and broke into a prison for high-class criminals, following up by releasing them all from their bonds. The felons gleefully escaped to cause more havoc, but The Boss paid them little mind. Instead, he seeked out a well-known murderer who tended to target chidlren and captured him. Yes, you heard right. _Captured him_. He brought him to The Hideout and stuck him in an impenetrable room only reachable by teleportation, a skill impossible for humans unless they were mages who had trained long and hard, and The Boss knew that the murderer was _not_ a mage. He avoided all of the man's attempts to kill him and tied him up securely, making sure he was unable to kill so much as gnat.

At sunrise, Benjen was awoken by his captor. "Good morning, Benjen!" the villain said brightly. Benjen did not reply. "Good, good, you've lost those good manners of yours. But we'll have to teach you respect if you're going to be a useful minion... but we can worry about that later!" He shoved a sword into the boy's hands. "Today, we're going to do something very fun! Yes, even more fun than our usual routine!" He teleported them into the room the murderer was in. "You'll be killing this man. Look, I even tied him up nicely for you, see? It should be an easy kill. Have fun!" Then he teleported out, leaving the two alone.

Benjen looked down at the sword in his hands. Why should he kill this man? There was no point.

Or so he thought. The murderer Caterpie-crawled at an incredibly fast rate over to him, gnawing through the gag that had been placed over his mouth.

"I forgot to tell you!" The Boss's disembodied voice echoed in the room. "This man is a well-known murderer who targets kids, and I even promised him freedom if he killed you! If you don't kill him first, you aren't getting out of this alive!"

The murderer had by now managed to chew threw the gag and was gnashing his teeth as he advanced on Benjen. The boy's eyes widened, and he fled. Unfortunately, the killer was faster and smarter. With some strategic zig-zags, he cornered Benjen, a sadistic grin on his face. "The chase was fun while it lasted, brat," he cackled. "Bye bye." He lunged, jaws agape as he prepared to bite through Benjen's throat as he had the gag. Benjen attempted to dodge, but he knew it was futile. He raised the sword he had been given, a feral scream ripping from his throat, and brought the blade down on the murderer.

"NO! STAY BACK! GET AWAY! AWAY!"

He hacked, slashed, and screamed, blood splashing from the body and the sword onto himself. Even though his opponent was dead, fear and desperation drove him to continue stabbing until there was nothing left but a bloody, mangled corpse. Breathing heavily, Benjen threw the sword down and curled up into a weeping ball.

The Boss grinned at the sight and rubbed his hands together. "Yes, yes, excellent! This has worked out wonderfully! Now..." He teleported into the room and knocked on the child's head lightly. "Benjen? Can you hear me? Attention, Benjen! This is The Boss speaking! If you'd like, I could erase your memory for you!"

Benjen did not respond and continued weeping. He had thought that he was immune to all this after seeing so much violence and so many deaths. But no... he had taken a _life_. True, it was a life guilty of taking many other lives, but it was a life all the same. The reality washed over him, making his blood run cold. The guilt felt like a raw wound. He had killed someone. He had _killed_ someone. Killed. Killed. Killed.

 **KILLED**.

Breaking into a fresh round of sobs, Benjen wailed as loud as his lungs would allow.

The Boss frowned. "Well! It seems you can't answer me now. But feel free to give me your decision whenever you'd like, okay?" Then he teleported the boy back into his room.

* * *

One week later, Benjen appeared before The Boss once again. "I can't take it anymore," he whimpered. "Erase... Erase my memory."

The Boss grinned. "Why, I thought you'd never ask." That was a complete lie. He had used his power-or, more accurately, his _violin's_ power-to amplify Benjen's feelings of horror and guilt. He pulled the aforementioned violin out of his cloak and began to play a soothing melody. "You'll probably be feeling a headache, but don't try to fight it. It's simply the memories being drawn out of your mind."

Headache was an understatement. Benjen felt as if a dangerous, clawed, fanged monster had suddenly been born inside his head and was breaking out. The sound of his screams mingled with the music coming from the violin until they abruptly stopped. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before closing.

The Boss smiled cruelly. "Stage three complete. Commencing stage four." He played a brief, sprightly song, and Benjen's eyes snapped open again. He looked lost, confused, and most of all, impressionable. "Hello," The Boss said brightly. Benjen stared at him blankly. "My name is The Boss. You will address me as The Boss or Lord The Boss. You are my minion. Your name is 700. You will follow my orders no matter what. Do you understand?"  
A question flew from 700's lips. "Why?"

"Why?" The Boss repeated. "Well! It is because you must. You can do this unconditionally, or I can mind control you. Your mind is very weak right now, you see, so it would be no trouble at all for me. However, it would be trouble for _you_ because it would be quite painful. You know what pain is, don't you?"

700 didn't understand how, but he did. He decided he didn't like pain. "...Yes."

The Boss clapped his hands. "Good, good! Then let us begin your education! Lesson one: emotions are for the weak."  
"You're showing emotion," 700 said bluntly. The Boss tsked.

"That's because I've mastered it. I'm allowed to put on a show. You are not allowed to have anything to do with emotion until you have complete control over yourself-enough control to work efficiently no matter what the case."

* * *

Thus began 700's training under The Boss. He had never thought to ask about his past-perhaps he was afraid to. Regardless of that, he grew into a fine agent. The Boss taught him to master the art of disguise-because he had no true sense of 'self', he was capable of mimicking behaviors and going undercover, recruiting people in the process. As the sole survival of a small settlement, Louis Kokanoka, he recruited Leon, a boy in a similar situation as his false persona. The young duke Zachary Benny the 14th stopped an assassination attempt on his distant cousin who had never met him before and then recruited the assassin, a young lady by the name of Genevieve-of course, he assassinated the very same 'cousin' himself. A page by the name of Jameson James Esquire met a scientist of the castle called Professor Evelyn Kara Rosanna. Frederick Barnabee worked for a rancher who just _happened_ to be supplying Zebstrika to a rival crime boss and met the rancher's niece, Natalie. And of course, Sparky Sparky Boom Man, a generic villain's grunt, convinced an aspiring young evil mastermind known as Mithril to take an internship with The Boss.

* * *

Not too long after recruiting Mithril, 700 was in a bar, gathering intel while posing as a random village guy called John John. A girl who appeared to be a few years older than him was in the same bar, mugging someone for information. He felt pain in his chest but ignored it. The girl caught sight of him, and their eyes met.

Tears started streaming out of his eyes, he had difficulty breathing, his heart was in excruciating pain, and he was thoroughly confused. Rather than allow her to come closer and make it worse, he raced out of the bar and back to The Hideout, resolving to have himself diagnosed by Kara.

The rest, as they say, is history.

* * *

"What was that?" Genevieve asked suspiciously.

"What was what?" Eleanor responded, the picture of clueless innocence.  
"The finger drumming thing," Genevieve clarified. "That's irrational behavior, and irrational behavior is suspicious behavior."

Eleanor smiled sunnily. "Oh, I've often been told that I'm irrational."

"Yeah? Well, I'll get the answer out of you in the tor-" _KABOOM._ "...What."

"I'm so terribly sorry about your wall," Kaz said sweetly. "Now... Might Benjen be here?"

"Look, I don't know who you are or who this Benjen person is, but you broke the wall on my watch. Do you know how much of that is coming out of my paycheck?!" Genevieve demanded aggressively, pulling out her scythe.

"Kaz!" Eleanor squealed at the same time.

"Genevieve! Where's Sparkers?!" Mithril demanded as her Lucario helped her into the room.

"Mithril," Genevieve spat, narrowing her eyes. "What in the _world_ have you brought here?"

"Sparkers's sister," the younger girl replied without missing a beat. "YO, SPARKERS! YOU HERE?!"

"He's here, alright," Kaz beamed. "I can tell. Well, it was _wonderful_ chatting with you, Miss Genevieve, but I have to meet with someone. Goodbye!" She sank into the floor, much to everyone's shock except Eleanor (well, except Adamant, but he was waiting below with two of The Organization's Rapidash and a cart). Seconds later, she reappeared out of the shadows by the door, a Gengar at her side. "Ta-ta!" Then she zoomed out.

"GET BACK HERE!" Genevieve yelled, taking a step forward, but she was stopped by Mithril.

"Sorry, Gen, but I can't let you stop her," the snowy-haired girl said determinedly. "Also, maracas. This is important."

* * *

Two guards were chatting with each other in front of the castle's door when it was slammed open.

"INTRUDER!" two more guards yelled, only to be pinned to the wall by the links of their chain mail with shuriken sticking out.

"Sorry, but this is really important," apologized Will.

Ethan, in the meantime, was making the most of his status. "Don't worry, gentlemen. They're with me."

"Assistant Captain Lyra!" the rest of the guards chorused as the quickly moved out of the way, totally ignoring the prince.

He deflated. "Gee, thanks."

Will patted his back sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. Lyra-sempai _does_ have a very commanding presence, after all."

Ethan immediately perked back up. "You're right! It's just that she's one of the few people that outshine me!" he agreed quickly, though it seemed he was trying more to convince himself than others.

"I need to speak with Captain Silver or Queen Crystal immediately," Lyra announced, dragging the tied up, squirming Natalie behind her.

"Don't listen to her! We're friends! We're friends!" the blonde girl protested. The guards ignored her and sent out one of the newbies to lead the group to the strategy room.

* * *

The guard knocked on the door. "Captain Silver? Queen Crystal?"

"Yes?" Crystal asked. "You can come in."

The guard entered with Ethan, Will, Natalie, and Lyra in tow. "Assistant Captain Lyra says she needs to see you!"

Silver turned. "Lyra? You were found?"

"More like The Boss tossed me into a tornado," Lyra muttered. "But yes, I'm here. However, Nicholas and Eleanor have been captured by The Boss."

Silver felt like pulling his hair out in frustration. His daughter comes back, two ninja are lost.

"I brought back one of his minions," Lyra added.

"Futile," Silver decided. "That man betrayed even the castle; he wouldn't lift a finger to save a minion."

Lyra sighed. "I knew it. What do you suggest doing to bring Eleanor and Nicholas back?"

Silver growled in frustration. "Nothing. Within a week, the merfolk will be upon the castle. Kaz left, and Lapis hasn't returned either. We can't spare anyone."

"The merfolk?" Lyra, Ethan, Will, and Natalie asked quizzically.

"Blue angered Lorelei, and now they're coming to kill us," Crystal interjected. "We have their treasured gauntlet that controls water, but they somehow gained the ability to fly."

"Can't the castle guard handle them?" Will asked.

Silver shook his head. "The quantity is too great. Even with all archer towers manned, we wouldn't be able to stop them from reaching the castle. And the majority of the guard is ground-based. No help against a flying enemy. The not-ninja are the only ones who can hit airborne targets accurately from the ground."

"What about the Pokemon? A lot of the guards have Pidgey," Ethan pointed out.

Lyra deadpanned. "And what about the merfolks' Pokemon? Besides, how are Pidgey going to cause widespread destruction?"

"Oh, right," Ethan looked sheepish.

"What about leveling them up and evolving them into Pidgeotto, then Pidgeot?"Aquamarine suggested, only to be karate-chopped by Lyra. "Ow!"

The girl blinked. "Ah-sorry. You took me by surprise. You don't have much of a presence, you know..."

"No fair!" Will clamored. "Lyra-sempai! Hit me, too!"

"Geh-! Dark Will arrives!" Ethan exclaimed in shock.

" _ **FOCUS**_!"

The queen's shout echoed through the room. She was breathing heavily from how much breath she had put into it. Everyone halted their shenanigans and turned to look at her. Will got his split personality under control.

"Let's get back to the matter at hand," she sighed, straightening up. "It's true that the guards could train their pokemon, but it would take too much time-time that we don't have. They'll be here in a week, remember? We'll have to make do with what forces we have. Captain Red has his Aerodactyl, and a few guards have Pidgeotto, but that's about it in terms of our air forces."

"What about Dad's Charizard?" Aquamarine inquired. "And Mom's Blastoise?"

Green shook his head. "No, one of the merfolk has a Gyarados. It'll take both of them to fight it off-the guards' pokemon aren't strong enough, but Charizard and Blasty don't have moves that are very effective against water and flying types, not to mention Charizard is at a distinct disadvantage. With any luck, it won't Mega Evolve."

Blue entered the room. "I heard my niece is here? Lyra~ I have a present for you~" Blue held up Lorelei's gauntlet.

"...Don't you need that?" Lyra pointed out.

"No, the Pesky Woman has a good point," Green interrupted. "As the assistant captain of the ninja, you're the second-strongest of them in the castle right now since Kaz is gone-"

"Who's Kaz?!" Ethan interrupted, somewhat offended that someone other than Silver was stronger than Lyra.

"A ninja who's as strong as and likely stronger than Lyra but is too unstable to be the assistant captain," Green answered. "As I was saying, Lyra, you're powerful, so you should be able to use the gauntlet effectively."

"But what about Dad?" Lyra protested.

"I can't be in two places at once," the man answered. "It's better to have two people as strong as me than one ridiculously overpowered person."

"Captain has a good point," Will agreed. "As one of the ninja squad, I'm all for this plan."

"But what about the other ninja?" Ethan asked. "Are they gonna just sit quietly and let this happen? I'm no genius, but doesn't this kind of thing never go over well?"

"We're _ninja_ , Ethan," Lyra deadpanned. "Some of us act like fools, but we're trained shinobi. We have discipline. Well, except Kaz, but she's pretty much powerful enough to forego some rules."

"The ninja should be able to keep their mouths shut. Especially Eleanor and Nicholas; out of all the ninja, they're likely the least susceptible to torture methods." The pair could stand a lot. Nicholas was like a Slowpoke. A very _intelligent_ Slowpoke. As for Eleanor, she was tougher than one would think. Her ability to always see something positive helped her withstand torture and look for the silver lining on the proverbial cloud. "They may be able to use their ninja skills to get out of trouble," Crystal pointed out.

Lyra nodded. "Okay, looks like we'll have to go with the original plan. I do wish that we could go save Eleanor and Nicholas; their skills as nin-"

Lyra was cut off by King Gold bungee jumping down through the roof.

"Don't say that word!" he hissed in a stage whisper as he untied himself. "The not-ninja are a secret! What if one of the citizens hears you?"

Crystal upperkicked Gold back through the hole in the ceiling. "So, all in agreement?"

"Aye!"

"Begin preparations!"

* * *

Orange, Leon, and Kara had ended up just leaving the bandits near a supply of Oran Berries. While Leon and Kara had wanted to leave them in a deserted area, Orange had insisted that they leave the bandits somewhere they could thrive. Eventually Leon relented when Orange said that he would even use the broadsword.

"Okay, Orange, we'll see how you do in a spar," Leon said.

"Right!"

They sparred, but Leon did nothing but parry in an attempt to get Orange to attack more vigorously.

"Take thiiiiiiiiiis!" Orange shouted, bringing the broadsword down with all of his might.

Leon made to block, but then he moved his sword out of the way so that Orange's swing would strike his heart.

Orange's eyes widened in shock, before he whispered "Oops."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

The sword that was striking at his heart flew out of Orange's grip and whistled past his ear.

"..." Leon turned and looked into the horizon, where his sword had disappeared. The boy's reactions were quick, to be able to register the absence of a parry _and_ throw the sword away in a single instant...

"AAAAH I'M SO SORRY I'LL FIND IT RIGHT AWAY!" Orange shouted, rushing off into the bushes.

* * *

Orange came back a few seconds later with a sword in its scabbard holding onto his arm. "I found it! It's got a new scabbard for some reason, though..."

"...That's a Honedge," Kara pointed out. "It's a Ghost- and Steel-type Pokemon that steals your life force."

"What?!" Orange gasped. He yanked the ghost off of his arm and placed it on the ground, prostrating himself. "I'm so sorry for disturbing your rest, Honedge-sama! PLEASE DON'T EAT MY SOUL!"

"..." the Honedge hopped back into the bushes now that its meal was aware of it.

"So... I live?" Orange asked tentatively.

Kara sighed. "You still have to find Leon's sword, remember?"

"O-oh yeah! I'LL FIND IT RIGHT AWAY JUST WAIT HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Orange shouted as he dashed off into the distance.

* * *

He came back a few seconds later being chased by a horde of Scolipede. "IT TURNS OUT THAT I HIT ONE OF THEM WHEN I THREW IT HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"...DarkFlare," Leon said.

His Houndoom popped out and got ready to torch the Scolipede. The Scolipede ran away.

"Phew, safe..." Orange panted.

"Leon's sword?" Kara reminded him.

"Ah, right! I'LL FIND IT RIGHT AWAY JUST WAIT HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Orange shouted as he dashed back off into the distance.

* * *

He returned a few seconds later fleeing from a Trevenant. "IT TURNS OUT THAT I CUT THE TREE IT WAS LIVING IN WHEN I LET GO OF THE SWORD HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

A few Flamethrowers later, the Trevenant backed off.

"Safe..." Orange sighed.

"Leon's sword," repeated Kara.

"Ack, that's right! I'LL FIND IT RIGHT AWAY JUST WAIT HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Orange shouted as he dashed off into the distance once more.

* * *

He returned a few seconds later being chased by Chu. "IT TURNS OUT THAT I KICKED DUST OVER THE ELEXECUTOR WHEN I WENT RUNNING OFF HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Kara got tired of this, changed her weapon into a fan, and whopped both Orange and Chu a good one.

"Orange... Leon's sword?"

"Urk...I'LL FIND IT RIGHT AWAY JUST WAIT HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Orange shouted as he dashed off into the distance yet again.

* * *

He came back a few seconds later being chased by a Caterpie. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID BUT NOW IT'S VICIOUSLY ATTACKING ME HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Kara picked up the Caterpie and tossed it into a tree. "I think I've figured this out... You have absolutely no confidence without Rusty, Orange."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Kara nodded. "Here, have Rusty." She gave Orange his sword.

Then she grabbed a random Caterpie and sicced it on Orange.

"Oh, it's a Caterpie," Orange noted. "Hey, little fella, are you hungry?"

"See?"

"..." This was a problem. If Orange was reliant on Rusty, Leon wouldn't be able to do any real work with him until Firestar was restored. But Leon wouldn't even be training Orange anymore. But if Leon didn't train Orange, he wouldn't be fulfilling The Boss's orders...

"Tch!" Leon muttered. He'd have to train Orange's skills with Rusty.

"Orange, we'll just detour through the forest on our way to Mount Silver and find Leon's sword," Kara said. "Let's go."

And they continued on to Mount Silver!

* * *

"OH MY ARCEUS! IT'S KURAMA!" Lapis screamed, pointing at the Ninetales in glee. "CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH, MISTER KURAMA, SIR?!"

 _Who are you? Descendants of that man, come to take revenge on me? Don't worry, I understand all about revenge. I'm a Ninetales after all. I'm afraid I'll have to kill you, though. By the way, I'm a female_ , the Ninetales told them.

Her voice was the same one that had shouted out when they had entered the force field.

"Whoa whoa whoa, we ain't ever heard o' a Ninetales livin' here. We just wanted ta git ta Mount Silver ta turn back from bein' pink!" Lapis backed away immediately. "She's dangerous," he whispered to Grisseo and Lukree. "I don't think she's Kurama."

"No duh she's dangerous!" Grisseo shouted. "Just look what she did to poor #IHateGarconMorris! Still, Imma go give her a piece of my mind!"

Grisseo stepped forward.

And found that he couldn't.

Looking down, he realized that his feet had been turned to stone, and the corruption was rapidly climbing his legs.

"Wha...?" he began before the corruption reached his heart, petrifying it mid-beat. Attempting to clutch at his chest, Grisseo found the corruption already at his shoulders. Managing to quickly crane his neck, Grisseo saw Lapis with the same plight. Lukree seemed less affected as the corruption climbed more slowly.

"Darkrai please save-" Grisseo was cut short as his mouth turned to stone. The corruption crept up his face at an alarming rate, and then Grisseo's world went black.

Lapis looked at Grisseo, who had now been completely petrified. He told himself to resist it, and he did-for about one fifth of a second. Then it resumed its deadly climb. It had already stopped his heart and frozen his lungs. He had maybe one more gasp of life left in him. "LukreerunawayfindCaptainSilverdontworryaboutushellhelpus!" he called before capitulating and become stone.

Lukree heard him and knew that she could not do that. She knew that if she turned her attention away from the Ninetales in front of her, she would not be able to stop the corruption inching up her body. By now it was just past her stomach.

 _'What did you do to them?'_ the Riolu demanded.

The Ninetales grinned. _The same thing I'm doing to you. A curse that turns you to stone._

Lukree winced. The curse had inched a little higher in the time it took to ask that question. It would soon reach her heart. Hoping to get some information in case she miraculously escaped, she asked, _'Who are you?'_

The Ninetales gave her a look of mock surprise. _You don't know me? I've been living on this planet for eons. I'm the one who facilitated the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, you know._

 _'You-Impossible! The dinosaurs we wiped out by a meteroite! Everyone knows that!'_ Lukree insisted.

 _And how do you think the meteor got past Rayquaza, eh?_ the Ninetales asked rhetorically, giving another grin.

 _'You- No way- You defeated_ Rayquaza _?!'_ Lukree demanded.

 _I would've if Deoxys, Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus hadn't shown up. That was the most fun I'd had in centuries, almost as good as when I challenged Kyogre and Groudon to cause the Permian Extinction,_ the Ninetales chuckled.

 _'You WHAT! You caused the Permian Extinction and fought off Groudon and Kyogre at once?!'_ Lukree demanded. In that instant of weakness, the curse jumped up past her heart. Lukree knew that she had maybe three minutes max before her brain stopped functioning. That is, if the curse didn't reach it first.

 _But one thousand years ago,_ the Ninetales continued, _a certain man managed to trap many Legendaries in his infernal Dark Balls. He chased after me with Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno, Suicune, Entei, Raikou, Latiors, Latias, Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie waiting on him. That was the first time in my entire life that I have ever felt fear._

 _'So is that why you're hidden here?'_ Lukree asked. The curse had just reached the base of her neck.

 _No,_ the Ninetales replied simply. _Though I felt fear, that chase also brought the most anger I have ever felt. I would've just gone back to wreaking havoc on the world outside, but when I erected the barrier here, I cursed the man with all my might, wihsing for him to die a slow and painful death. He retaliated by sending a Ninjask to seal me in this cave with a blood curse. Everyone knows that the only way to remove a blood curse is with the blood of the descendant of the caster, so I have been waiting for his descendants all this time. I know they will come. Humans are always driven by revenge._

By now the curse had covered Lukree's mouth, but she was still able to talk with aura. _'Who... are you?'_ she asked again.

 _Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first? Who are you, little one?_

By now Lukree had barely enough aura to form a sentence. The curse had crept halfway up her eyes. Lukree pumped aura into her brain in order to have some semblance of functionality.

 _'Who am I?'_ she repeated. _'I am Lukree Henderschwagowich Dondricus the Third... Fifth in line for the... Lucario Kingdom throne... I carry many other titles, but my heritage demands that I first tell you this: I will_ never _lose... to someone... like... you... Now, for the last time... WHO ARE YOU?!'_

 _I am death. I am revenge. I am Kyuukushu._

And then Lukree, too, succumbed to stone.

* * *

*Important notice!* 'Kyuukushu' is a combination of the Japanese words for nine, 'kyuu', and revenge, 'fukushuu'. (Unless my sources are incorrect)

* * *

 **Petal: I am very proud of Copper. :3**

 **Copper: I am very proud of myself. :3**

 **Petal: Please review!**


	18. Wild Darkrai Appeared!

**Petal: Greetings, readers. As Copper is sick right now, he won't be participating in the opening note. We don't own Pokemon, Genevieve, Mithril, Nicholas, Eleanor, 700, Kaz, Leon, Kara, Natalie, or Will.**

"Not letting me pass, eh?" Genevieve drawled, drawing her scythe. "Then I'll force my way past."

Mithril was not deterred. She had total confidence in her skills, after all. "Fine! I _was_ going to be nice and let you join my new group, but never mind that now! Let's go!" She drew her twin swords, her hands tightening around the familiar grip of the handles as she bent her knees slightly.

And thus the battle began.

Genevieve swung Crystal Destroyer in a wide arc, but Mithril ducked underneath and sprinted at her, Lady Deadly out in front of her. "You'll have to do better than that!" she crowed, aiming at her former comrade's scythe-wielding hand. If she could just get the blade between the scythe's handle and Genevieve's palm, then stab...

But the silver-haired girl had other plans. Bringing her knee up, she kicked out quickly with a high-heeled foot, the sharp heel driving into Mithril's gut. The force of her blow sent the younger girl flying backwards, straight into Crystal Destroyer's blade. Mithril did her best to ignore the pain and brought her swords behind her. Steel met with steel, and the blades sang. She backflipped over the scythe and smirked. "What now, Gen? Also, fishcakes."

"Fishcake _this_." Moving faster than Mithril had though possible of her, Genevieve was suddenly invading the blancette's personal space. She kicked her again. "Oh, I _love_ these boots!" she cackled as Mithril went flying backwards once again, this time into a wall.

She let out a harsh _HURK!_ sound as the air rushed out of her lungs. Either the wall was weak or the kick was extremely hard, because Mithril crashed through the wall and into the next room, much to the disbelief of Lustrous. Nicholas slept through the whole thing, of course.

"That hurt," Mithril coughed, stating the obvious to make sure she was okay. Something glittered beneath her, and she looked down. A stormy gray gemstone was lying with wall debris on the floor below her. She didn't know why, but power seemed to emanate from it. Acting on impulse, she reached down, snatched it up, and replaced Sir Sharp's pommel stone. She gave it an experimental swing, trying to discern what was so different about the sword now, and a small gust of wind blew out of it.

Her jaw dropped. "HOLY MOTHER OF A TULIP!" she shrieked. "MAGIC WEAPON!"

Lustrous stared blankly. "What the heck...?" she muttered. First she gets sucked up by a tornado, spat out with some ninja, falls down a pit trap, gets sucked up a secret passageway, gets knocked out, and now she has to deal with even more weirdos. Darn it, she _knew_ she should have listened to her grandfather and become a farmer... but her dad's tales of his journeying days had been so compelling...!

Mithril grinned. Genevieve was so _toast_. She glanced at the wall in front of her. It had collapsed, and chunks of whatever it was made out of blocked the opening. Her grin widened. She was going to make a dramatic entrance even Natalie would be proud of.

* * *

Genevieve managed to stifle her cackles long enough to turn to Eleanor, a sadistic glint in her eyes. "Well. Looks like no one's around to save you anymore," she sneered. "Your friend has abandoned you, and the brat isn't here to distract me anymore. You _will_ tell me the information I n-"

She was cut off by a loud explosion. Swiveling their heads to look, Genevieve and Eleanor both had looks of shock on their faces. Strong gusts of wind were blowing through the hole in the wall, scattering debris everywhere (and nearly hitting them). Then suddenly, a figure burst forth, propelled forward by a gale. Her arms were outstretched like wings, and her face was fillled with determination.

It was epic and amazing for all of five seconds. Then she crashed into a wall. She had clearly not yet mastered her new power. "Ow..." she whimpered, peeling herself off of the stones.

"So you're still conscious, eh?" Genevieve snarled, readying her scythe. "You're like a cockroach."

"Do not make fun of roaches!" Mithril bellowed in as a deep a voice as she could manage. "They are small, but they are tenacious and tough! No matter how many times you try to kill one, it will continue to survive! You, who have trampled on and killed innocent people, will face the repurcussions of your actions! It is not my way to shed blood, but you leave me no choice! I will crush you, villain! PUNISHMENT!" With a mighty wave of her arm and Sir Sharp, she hit Crystal Destroyer with a blast of air, sending it flying out the broken window.

And Genevieve, too.

"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!" the woman screamed when she couldn't find any purchase to stop her flight.

Mithril scratched her head. "Well, that wasn't exactly how I planned it, and I didn't get to write 'Justice' in cloud letters, but it was still pretty cool!" she decided. "I am one step closer to world domination!"

"World domination?"

Mithril turned around and saw the pigtailed girl still tied up. She had completely forgotten about her, not that she'd ever say that out loud. "Yes, world domination!" she chirped. "I'm going to become a heroic mastermind who takes over the world!"

Eleanor beamed at her. "That's a nice goal! Do your best!" She paused. "And, uh... do you think you could untie me as your first heroic deed?"

"Second," Mithril corrected her, but she obliged and cut through the ropes anyway. "The first was bringing Kaz here so she could reunite with her brother."

"I see!" Eleanor exclaimed. "So you know Benjen? That's wonderful! I'm glad he's had a good friend like you there for him even though he's been separated from his sister."

Mithril started to tear up. Here was a complete stranger who was heaping praise on her even though they had only met five minutes ago! Was this the treatment heroes get? Amazing...! She was _extremely_ happy about her decision. Soon enough, she would have an empire of grateful followers at her beck and call, and they would take over the world, and there would be cream-filled doughnuts for everyone! Life was looking up. Now, if she could only find the rest of her friends...

"Hello? Could you untie us as well?" came an annoyed voice from the adjoining room. Mithril glanced back and realized that there was a guy and a little girl who were also tied up. She hurried over and released them as well. More followers, yay!

"You must want to know the name of your generous benefactor!" she announced. "I am known as Mithril. No family name, just Mithril. Of course, if you wish to be respectful, you may also call me Empress Mithril the heroic mastermind, future ruler of the world!"

" _Are you an idiot_?"

The blonde's cutting remark stabbed through Mithril's delicate heart, and she fell to the ground in shock.

"That thing with the wind was cool," the younger girl continued, "for about five seconds before you crashed into the wall. And what about the thing with the scythe lady?! Why'd you send her flying, too?! She could be out there wreaking even more havoc and hurting more innocent people! And what was with that weirdo monologue?!"

* * *

In another dimension, a young king named Shibuya Yuuri sneezed.

* * *

Mithril, never one to stay down, leaped back to her feet. "SILENCE, MORTAL!" she boomed.

"You're a mortal, too," Lustrous pointed out.

Mithril ignored her interjected and continued to speak. "I was merely testing out my new power! Fret not, I shall hunt down that evildoer and ensure that she can't cause anymore harm! Also, pickles!"

"Yep, she's an idiot," Lustrous muttered to herself. Oh, she _really_ should have listened to her grandfather...

"That's not nice," murzled two voices in unison. One of them was Nicholas, of course. As for the other...

"Ad?!" Lustrous gasped, turning to stare at her childhood friend. He waved calmly, munching on a doughnut. "Ad..." Mithril smiled and nodded to herself. Good deed number five! Reuniting these two who were obviously connected to each other!

"Ad..." Lustrous rushed across the room to her friend. "Ad...!" Mithril and Eleanor watched with their eyes glittering in anticipation for an adorable moment.

"AD! NO, ADAMANT! I SHOULD'VE KNOWN YOU'D BE WITH A HERO-WANNABE!" Lustrous screeched, whacking her friend on the head with a large paper fan she seemed to pull from out of nowhere. Mithril and Eleanor's jaws dropped. "You probably thought, oh, cool, a hero! I love superheroes! Maybe I'll get to be her sidekick or a member of her superhero team if I follow her around! Yay!" the blonde ranted. "Sometimes I really wonder what goes on in that head of yours!"

When she was done, Adamant merely rubbed the cheek she had hit. "That hurts," he commented absentmindedly.

 _An abusive relationship!_ Mithril thought with shock.

As if reading her mind, the boy reassured her, "Oh, that's not it. She just has a unique way of showing she cares. When she's worried or relieved, she hits people."

Mithril inched a little further away from the girl. "Oh... Cool... Hehe..." She giggled nervously. "A-Anyway, my career as a hero has begun! Now it's time to go see what's happening with good deed number one!" Then she raced out of the room in search of Kaz and Benjen.

* * *

"BENJEN!"

700 snapped out of his reverie and glanced back. To his horror, the trigger of his disease had arrived. His mind raced as his body became paralyzed with fear. How? Why? The Hideout was probably the most secure and hidden place in the world! How had she found it? How had she gotten in? How? Why? Had she come to finally finish him off?

As she had the last time he saw her, the woman took advantage of his paralysis to capture him. "Benjen! You can't run this time!" she announced. "You'll never be able to hide from me again!"

The liquid running from 700's eyes was attributed to the disease, but strangely, he felt like increasing the output. It was true. He _couldn't_ hide from her. The Hideout was the one place he had felt most safe from her influence. All he could do now was run and run and run, fleeing from country to country to escape from her... assuming he could even get away, that is. His chest was going through a lot of strange feelings. The pain he always experienced was prominent, of course. However, the floaty, ticklish feeling he had felt in Ecruteak was present as well. Why? What was it? Was the disease entering a more advanced stage? Was he going to die? Where was Kara when he needed her? Or at least the analysis she had promised to compile for him? He blinked furiously, trying to clear his vision. To his utter astonishment, Mithril was standing outside a door, a proud and happy expression on her face. Why...? Had she betrayed him...? Well, they weren't comrades in the first place. Just co-workers. Still, he felt the pain in his chest increase, but oddly enough, it was accompanied by a warm and fuzzy feeling. The pain... and the warm fuzziness, the tickly floatiness... It was as if two sides of himself were warring with each other. Not to mention his head hurt. Why? There was tugging within his skull, as if it was trying to bring something back. But what was it? What could it possibly be?

"...jen. Benjen!" Kaz shouted, trying to gain her brother's attention. Sadly, he was lost in his own little world. His eyes were glazed over, and his mouth was moving to form silent words. Unfortunately, his lips were shaking so badly that she wasn't able to read them. She shot a glance back at Mithril. "You. What's been happening to him these past fourteen years?"

"I was barely out of infancy when he was kidnapped!" Mithril protested. "Besides, I only joined five years ago! All he's done is eat, sleep, use the bathroom, and go on missions! If you want to know what happened, Leon's been one of The Minions the longest besides Sparkers! He'd be able to give you the most accurate account!"

"So where is this Leon?!"

"I don't know!"

"Now, now, that's enough!" The Boss declared as he teleported in front of 700. "Poor 700 is quite incapacitated right now. You shouldn't pick on him!"

Mithril paled visibly. "Uhhh... Th-The Boss, sir! I-I mean, we're going to defeat y-you! G-go, Kaz, get him!"

Contrary to Mithril's expectations, Kaz smiled sweetly. "Hello, The Boss. It's a pleasure to meet you. Truly." The two shook hands cordially. Mithril's jaw dropped.

"Kaz! What are you doing?!" she shrieked.

Kaz simply smiled at her. "I'm properly greeting the person who's been taking care of my baby brother all these years, of course," she replied, her grip on The Boss's hand visibly tightening. She dug her nails into his skin, but he didn't even flinch.

"That's quite a grip you have," he noted.

She continued smiling. "Why, thank you. Now, I must show you my thanks for looking after Benjen."

"What is it?" The Boss asked interestedly. "Gratitude cookies? Gratitude cake? A thank-you card?"

Her grin widened. "No, it's something even better." Kaz drew her homing exploding shuriken, released The Boss's hand, and slammed the projectile into his eyes.

When the smoke cleared, The Boss had caught the exploding shuriken and was generally unharmed. "That wasn't very nice, you know. What kind of culture do you have? I've never heard of a gratitude homing exploding shuriken before."

Kaz's smile lessened. "Oh... You caught it? Well. That was disappointing. How about this?" She grabbed Lady Deadly from Mithril and stabbed at The Boss's gut.

The Boss disarmed her with a chop to the guard. "Neither of those things really give me the sense of much gratitude. You should probably stick to the classic cake or thank-you card."

Then he grabbed 700 and flew away.

And then Kaz trashed The Hideout.

Mithril worked very hard to get everyone's prized possessions out, but there was no way for her to save Kara's laboratory.

* * *

Lapis slowly opened his eyes. Was he dead? Was this heaven? There were clouds all over, and he was somehow laying down on one.

"Hey Lapis! You're alive, too?" Grisseo exclaimed.

Nope. Never mind. Heaven for Lapis definitely didn't have _this_ guy in it.

"Look, look! #IHateGarconMorris is here, too! D'you think that maybe this is a hidden effect of Infiltrator?"

Lapis sighed. "No. We're probably dead and in the afterlife."

"You aren't dead, though you almost were," a voice boomed out of nowhere. Then a shadowy figure that looked _exactly_ like Grisseo's Darkrai costume came out of... nowhere... Dang, this is repetitive.

"OHMYDARKRAIITSAREALLIVEDARKRAIIKNEWMYSACRIFICESANDPRAYERSWOULDPAYOFFCANIHAVEYOURAUTOGRAPHMRDARKRAIOHWAITAREYOUAMISSDARKRAIIFTHATSTHECASEIAPOLOGIZEFORNOTREALIZING-" Grisseo was cut off as the Darkrai used Dark Void to put him to sleep.

Lapis groaned as Grisseo perked right back up. "OHMYDARKRAIADARKRAIJUSTUSEDDARKVOIDONMEANDPUTMETOSLEEPTHISISTHEBESTDAYEVER!"

The Darkrai yelled, "SHUT UP!" as it once again used Dark Void. "Is he always this annoying?" it asked Lapis.

"More or less, yeah," came the answer.

"MRDARKRAIMRDARKRAIWASITYOUWHOSOGRACIOUSLYSAVEDME#IHATEGARCONMORRISANDOURCOMPANIONTHANKYOUSOMUCH!"

"...Can you knock him out?" the Darkrai begged Lapis.

"Thought ya'd never ask!" Lapis proceeded to punch and kick Grisseo into unconsciousness. "So, what happened? Why are we here?"

"Well, the boss asked me to save you," the Darkrai replied. "Something about the Staff of Shadows, or something."

''The Boss?'' Lapis repeated. "Captain Silver told me 'bout 'im. Isn't he like a super evil mastermind or somethin'?"

"No, I meant, _my_ boss. You know, Darkrai," the Darkrai replied.

"But wait. Ain't _you_ Darkrai?" Lapis asked.

"No, I'm _a_ Darkrai. My boss is _the_ Darkrai," the Darkrai answered.

"But if yer just _a_ Darkrai, then wouldn't yer boss also jus' be _a_ Darkrai?" Lapis asked in confusion.

"No, it- Argh, you confused me. The point is, I was sent to save you by pulling your souls into my dreamspace."

Lapis was even more confused. Souls? Dreamspace? "But wait, couldn't ya have just pulled us here before we were nearly petrified?"

The Darkrai shook its head. "No, the curse acts on your soul to turn your body to stone. If I pulled your souls, then the curse would stop climbing your body, and Kyuukushu would know that I saved you, and then she would come and eat me or something."

Lapis opened his mouth to speak, but the Darkrai shushed him. "Hold on, gotta save the Riolu." Then he dove into the clouds.

"...Eat him?" Lapis wondered. And who was Kyuukushu?

A second later, the Darkrai popped back up carrying a familiar banana.

"I'm a Riolu," Lukree muttered in her sleep.

Grisseo stirred. "Hey Lapis, where'd the Darkrai go?"

Lapis quickly shoved the Darkrai back under the clouds. "Uhh... it was uncomfortable with ya fanboying all over it, so it left. Yeah."

Grisseo's eyes filled with tears. "It left because of me? I'M SO SORRY DARKRAI I WON'T FANBOY OVER YOU ANY MORE JUST PLEASE COME BACK!"

The Darkrai cautiously floated back through the clouds. "Okay..."

Lukree stirred. "Where... am I?" she asked. "Was I saved?"

"Alright, now that we're all here, I'll fill you in on the details," the Darkrai decided. "You guys gotta protect the Staff of Shadows."

"Kinda hard to do, since we're stone now," Lukree scoffed.

"A mission from Darkrai?! I ACCEPT!" Grisseo shouted. "I'll protect the Staff of Shadows with my life!"

"Hey, waitaminit... Lukree's talking!" Lapis exclaimed.

"You know, I _am_ still here..." #IHateGarconMorris reminded them.

"AND THE NOIVERN, TOO?!"

"But of course," the Darkrai said. "This is _my_ dreamspace; _I_ control the laws of the universe in here. If I say Pokemon can speak human, they can."

"So, about that mission..." Lukree reminded it.

"Right. You'll need to have your physical bodies to protect the Staff, of course, so restoring those comes first."

"An' how're we gonna do dat?" Lapis demanded.

"Well, since Lukree held on for a long time and is a Pokemon, she can probably be restored by getting dunked in the spring at the top of Mt. Silver. Once that happens, she can take the Staff, which wasn't petrified, and cleanse it of all that dirt and grime."

"And what about us?" Grisseo asked hopefully.

"You two humans will be deadweights until you get the curse forcibly seared off of you in the magma of Mt. Chimney."

The word 'deadweight' echoed in Grisseo's mind over and over again.

"I see... All this time spent training and working hard... I'm destined to be nothing but a hindrance in the end..." Grisseo curled up into a ball.

"Hey, wait... How's da banana gonna get ta the mountain in da first place?" Lapis pointed out.

The Darkrai looked nervous. "It's risky and I'll probably die, condemning you guys to death, too, but I'll pick up your bodies and get the heck away from that demon Ninetales. Then I'll try to find someone going to Mount Silver, and dump your bodies with them."

"What if they don't submerge me in the spring?" Lukree challenged.

"Huh, I never thought of that..." the Darkrai pondered the question for a few minutes with no answer.

"I got an idea!" Lapis exclaimed. "Find some guy wit' blonde hair, red eyes, a rusty sword, an' a banjo! If you give 'im da Staff o' Shadows and tell him to dunk Lukree in the spring, he'll prolly listen!"

"Oh! That's right, Orange is heading there too!" Grisseo popped out of his curled-up position. "And he's also eventually going to Mt. Chimney to fix his sword!"

"I suppose that I'll put my life in your hands. Any Legendary should be competent, after all," Lukree decided.

"Here's hoping we don't die," the Darkrai said. "Threetwoone GOGOGO!"

Then it zoomed down below the clouds again.

* * *

The Darkrai tiptoed carefully to the cave. Well, as much as one without toes _can_ tiptoe. It peered cautiously around the corner and made eye contact with Kyuukushu.

Snorlax poop.

The Darkrai zipped in, grabbed the four stone figures, and ran the heck away, using every last bit of its base 125 speed stat.

Kyuukushu gave chase, a smirk on her face as she began to close in. Though she was technically slower than the Darkrai, she was big enough for that not to matter.

 _Gotta go faster, faster, faster, faster!_ thought the Darkrai as it made a mad dash through the deserted forest, weaving in and out of trees. Kyuukushu had shrunk down to the size of a normal Ninetales so the trees wouldn't slow her down, but she was using her psychic powers to speed up.

Out of the forest, the Darkrai used Psychic to knock down all the trees to slow Kyuukushu. They lasted for about a second before they were blown away by a powerful psychic blast. Kyuukushu reverted to her original giant size and closed in.

 _Pleasepleaseplease let me make it to the barrier,_ the Darkrai thought desperately. _I'm almost there!_

The Darkrai had to swerve to the side as a pillar of magma and rock erupted from the ground. It had to dodge once again as a high-pressure jet of water sliced into the ground in front of him. By now Kyuukushu was close enough to make a lunge for him. But the barrier was only a few meters away!

The Darkrai put all of its strength into one final push that cannoned it through the barrier just as Kyuukushu's jaws clamped shut behind it.

Breathing heavily on the ground, the Darkrai couldn't stop thinking about that magma-rock spire and jet of water that had slowed it down. Those powers were Groudon and Kyogre... so how had she...?

Deciding that it should probably make sure the Staff was safe before pondering these things, the Darkrai flew up into the air and began searching for a blonde kid with red eyes, a banjo, and a rusty sword.

* * *

The group of three forged deep into the forest, sticking together so nobody would be kidnapped again.

"Sorry," Kara muttered. "I let my guard down..." Leon gave her a look. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his mouth was set in a stern line. "...I know you thought I was better than that. But you should actually communicate with words rather than leave your expression up to interpretation."

Orange's eyes widened. "So he wasn't thinking that we should use a stick to decide which direction the sword is in?"

"Please," scoffed Kara. "That's unscientific balderdash."

Orange had polished a small area of the ground so that Chu would consent to use the Elexecutor as a stick.

"Well, looks like we're going that way!" Orange declared, heading east.

Kara and Leon shared looks, sighed, and followed.

5 minutes later, they came across the sword.

"See?" Orange said proudly. "Lady Luck loves me!"

Kara's jaw dropped. "How does that even..." She trailed off, deciding that questioning the insanity was useless.

Leon raised an eyebrow. Well. This certainly explained how the kid had survived so long without killing anyone. He picked up his blade and sheathed it. "That's odd," he muttered.

Then a Darkrai barrelled into the ground in front of them bearing four stone statues, two of human boys, one of a Noivern, and one of a Riolu.

Leon's eyebrow rose even higher. Kara's jaw dropped again. Orange let out a cry of shock and horror.

"Lapis! Grisseo!" he shouted, rushing to his petrified friends. "Are you guys okay?! Speak to me!" he begged.

Kara facepalmed. "They're _petrified_ ," she said slowly in the tone one uses when explaining a difficult concept to a small child. "Of _course_ they're not okay. They _can't_ speak to you." She wondered why his parents had let him out into the world if he didn't realize such an obvious thing.

"Well, maybe they can hear me through the stone!" Orange said defensively. "I've heard of things like that happening!" As a matter of fact, his parents had supposedly once been petrified by a woman from the Galactic bandit gang.

Kara harrumphed. "I never said that they couldn't hear you. I said that they can't speak to you. They're _stone_. They can't move."

Orange looked embarrassed. "Yeah... but... still..."

"Maybe we should ask more logical questions," Leon interrupted. "Like for example... why did a legendary pokemon appear in front of us with petrified people who Orange is clearly acquainted with?"

"You're right," Kara decided. "So Orange... Do you know that Darkrai?"

Orange looked thoughtful. "No, but Grisseo always talked about Darkrai..."

Kara tried again. "Then do you know this Riolu?"

Orange looked at the Riolu and replied in the negative.

"...There's a note," Leon said, pointing at a small white piece of paper attached to Lapis.

It read:

 _Dear blonde kid with red eyes, a banjo, and a rusty sword,_

 _Make sure to be asleep between 10-12 o'cock in the night tonight. All will be explained._

Kara looked at her watch. "We aren't going to be late no matter what we do, so let's keep going for the next few hours. The group continued on for a while, and then came across a very large tree.

"This should provide shelter from the weather," Kara decided. "Let's make camp."

Leon pointed up.

Kara and Orange looked up.

There was a colony of Ariados, and they looked hungry.

"BAIL!" Orange shouted as he dragged Leon and Kara away.

"We could have just killed them," Kara pointed out when they had escaped the danger and were safely in a cave.

Orange sighed. "Yeah, but they were innocent!" he pointed out. "Now let's get some sleep!"

After clearing the cave of Zubat, the three settled down for sleep- and explanations.

* * *

"HELLO?! I'M STILL HERE!"

Natalie's outburst took the group by surprise. After Crystal had given the order for preparations, they had gone around the castle to supervise the proceedings, dragging Natalie along with them. Until now, she had been silent (aside from some grumbling, but the some of the guards had been grumbling, too, so it had faded into background noise), but now it was clear that she had had enough.

"Sorry," Lyra apologized half-heartedly. "I forgot you were there."

Natalie's jaw dropped. " _Dude_! When you're dragging a whole human being, you don't just forget that she's _there_!" she shouted, incredulous. Lyra just shrugged and went back to judging the placement of the aerial traps. "PAY ATTENTION!"

"Notice me sempai!" Will promptly wailed, only to be knocked down as King Gold fell through the roof again.

Natalie looked startled. "What...?"

"What goes up must come down, even if its head is empty," Silver deadpanned. Crystal nodded in agreement.

A jar of pickles rolled out of the king's cape, coming to a stop in front of Natalie's face. She blinked, frowned, closed her eyes, hummed a bit, and came to an apparent conclusion. "Tiki!" she called. The Joltik climbed out of her hat, much to the shock and horror of some passing maids, and skittered the short distance across the floor to the jar. It proceeded to right it, unscrew the lid, and pull out a pickle. Natalie grinned in delight as her partner skittered back over to her and held it out for her to eat. "That's the tick-et!" she cheered, taking a bite out of it.

"Wha- THAT BUG JUST TOOK MY PICKLE! AND GAVE IT TO THE PRISONER!" Gold yelled in shock.

"Technically, it's an arachnid," Crystal interjected.

"Dill with it," Natalie said, sticking her tongue out at the king and then taking another bite out of the pickle.

He opened his mouth to call for the guards, but his wife slapped a hand over his mouth and picked up the jar. Silver confiscated the pickle from Tiki and turned to his daughter with a disapproving glare. "I thought you knew better than to leave a prisoner with their pokemon."

Her shoulders sagged. "I didn't check the pokeballs when I took them. I'm sorry, sir."

Natalie coughed purposefully. "Ly being scolded is all well and good, but what about me?! I want those pickles! They're almost as good as flapjacks!" Tiki cast her a shocked, aghast look. "I said _almost_ , Tiki. _Almost_. NOTHING is as good as flapjacks." She turned her head back up to the rest of the group. "Tell ya what! If you give me the pickles, I'll tell you everything I know about The Boss!"

Silver frowned suspiciously. "That's a little _too_ easy."

The girl shrugged. "It's not like I really have much of an attachment to the guy. He's just my employer. The only reason I stay working for him despite the awful pay is 'cause I don't want him to kill me, but I figure you guys can keep me safe if I give you information."

Silver refrained from telling her that none in the castle were likely to stand a chance against the man and gave her back the pickle. "Do tell."

Natalie turned and gave Gold her most smug smirk. He growled in fury, but Crystal's warning glare and the fact that all the ninja present had their hands in their weapon pouches forced him to refrain from doing anything.

"I know the location of The Boss's base," Natalie began.

"Knew that already," Silver interrupted. "Useless."

Natalie frowned. "But then why haven't you done anything about him?"

"He was busy tossing me into a tornado at the time," Lyra interjected.

Natalie's frown deepened. "Oh... Well, he leaves his cloaks and capes on the floor and pays us minions minimum wage for maximum work."

"And this concerns our battle plans how?" Crystal queried, raising an eyebrow. "The most we could possibly do is turn them against him because of resentment over their pay, but I somehow doubt they would actually join us."

Natalie heaved a dramatic sigh. "Then I guess I have no choice but to tell you..." She paused.

"Out with it," Silver said impatiently when she took too long to speak.

"I was _getting_ to that," she huffed. "Anyway, The Boss's main weapon is this magic violin thing."

Silver and Crystal exchanged glances. Well. That was news to them. "Go on," Crystal said with an encouraging smile, giving Natalie another pickle.

"It can do all sorts of weird stuff," the girl continued. "It's got a huge barrier around it that keeps it and whatever's within its range hidden, like The Hideout. Of course, that explains how you found it while The Boss was out... I also saw him level a whole forest with it once. And once, before he set up the barrier, a door-to-door salesman tried to sell him a newspaper subscription. He was really pushy and wouldn't take no for an answer, so The Boss gave us earplugs, and then he played the violin, and then blood spurted out of the guys head. It was gross."

"No kidding," Crystal muttered. "But what in the world could that violin be...?"

Natalie shrugged. "I dunno, but it had a dark gem on the underside of it. I couldn't tell if it was red or purple or what, but it was a really evil-looking."

"AH!" All heads turned to the king. He had a look of surprise and realization on his face.

"What? Do you know something?" Crystal asked.

He nodded furiously. "Yeah, I do! When I was a kid, I snuck into rooms that were restricted, and one of them was a special treasure room-you know, the one we stored the gauntlet in before Lyra came back. Anyway, I saw this weird jewel that looks exactly like what Braid Gal described. I asked my grandpa about it, and after he yelled at me for five hours, he told me what it was. Apparently it's some sort of magic item that was created by Yveltal. It was being kept in the castle so that it could be monitered and guarded so no one evil would ever use it again. After that there was some big upset 'cause it was stolen, but I never would have thought it landed in the hands of the bad guy!"

Crystal's jaw dropped in shock. Her husband had said something useful to the situation! Silver gave her a congratulatory shoulder pat.

"Wait... aren't Legendaries supposed to balance each other?" Lyra pointed out. "If that gem's made by Yveltal, shouldn't there also be a gem made by Xerneas?"

Crystal nodded. "You're right... We could probably win if we had that. I wonder where it is?"

"Was there anything else on the gem that may have a counterpart?" Silver asked Natalie, who shrugged.

Green spoke up. "If it's Xerneas, to represent Fairy type... Maybe it's pink?"

"It could also be white, the opposite of black darkness," Silver argued.

All eyes swiveled to King Gold's crown and the white gem that rested in it.

"Guys, this same crown has been used for generations. Somebody should've figured it out by now," Gold pointed out. "It can't possibly be the crown."

"Yes, it can," everyone else said in unison, and they all (barring Natalie, who was still tied up) tackled the king.

* * *

The Boss waited atop Mount Silver, his earlier hysteria more or less suppressed. Now he had two things to worry about: _her_ , and the castle realizing that the crown could oppose his violin.

 **Petal: Oh my! A Darkrai! And King Gold actually said something useful for once! Please review!**


	19. Nicholas Knows How To Scry

**Petal: I am exceedingly sorry for the lack of update last week and the week before. (O-O)/**

 **Copper: Mmhm.**

 **Petal: And a certain someone isn't being very enthusiastic.**

 **Copper: Mmhm.**

 **Petal: Maybe it's because of the heat. It's the first time we've gotten the air conditioner out the same week as the fans... We don't own Pokemon, Mithril, Kaz, Leon, Nicholas, Benjen, or Kara!**

Mithril cast a furtive glance at Kaz. The woman had been pacing and muttering ever since she calmed down from trashing the castle, and she might snap if anyone tried to speak to her. Still, someone had to make the noble sacrifice. "Er... Kaz?" Mithril cringed. Her voice was squeaky and timid, and mildly terrified, not confident and assured as she had meant for it to be.

But she still got a reaction.

"Right," Kaz growled, stopping and straightening. "Where is Leon?"

"...Pardon?" Mithril was dumbfounded. She had expected to get her head bitten off.

"Where is Leon?" Kaz repeated. "You know, the one among you who's known Benjen the longest?"

"Um... Why do you want to know?"

"Because," Kaz said, sarcastic patience dripping from her carefully enunciated words, "you said he'd be able to give me the most accurate account of what's been happening to Benjen. If I know what happened, I will be closer to actually being able to do something about it."

"...Oh. Yeah. Good point."

"So where is he?"

Mithril cringed. Her future minion was not going to like this. "I... don't know."

"You don't know." Kaz smiled sweetly. She repeated the words again. "You don't know."

Mithril knew that smiling people were generally supposed to be jolly, but she had the oddest feeling that she was going to face imminent death if she didn't front the woman some information. "B-But," she continued, "Kara has a scrying pool underneath the castle. We could try to locate him that way... As long as he isn't in a place like The Hideout that's untraceable, we should be able to find him..."

"Good," Kaz said. She grabbed Nicholas's arm and motioned for Mithril to lead the way. "This guy has magic. It's only a little, though, so if anyone has better magic abilities or is just good at scrying, do speak up." No one did. "Alright then. Nicholas, you are going to locate this Leon person."

"Okaaaaaaaaaaay," he yawned, ambling after the senior shinobi.

"How do scrying pools work, anyway?" Lustrous wondered. "I thought you have to know the person you're looking for?"

Adamant shook his head. "Not necessarily. It depends on the enchantment it's got. Sometimes all you need is their name, but something that belongs to them, like hair or clothing, works better."

She nodded her head in understanding. "Ah, I see... Wait, how do you know about scrying?! That info would've been real useful back when we were trying to track down that lady's Skitty!"

"I read it in my mother's library," came the calm reply. It was followed by the resounding smack of a paper fan making painful contact with skin and a screech of "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

Kaz ignored the one-sided argument going on behind her as she followed Mithril down a passageway hidden beneath a bush. Her sandals clacked rhythmically on the stone steps. As they descended, she reflected on her meetings with Benjen. She had caught up to him multiple times since she first encountered him again by chance, but on the most recent occasions, she felt as if he was coming closer to remembering her. For all her analytical skills, she didn't have a rational explanation for the thought. She just _knew_ it, knew it in her gut. The only question was why. Extended exposure to her presence? The weakening of a spell that might have been cast on him? Maybe something had happened to him that was causing him to instinctively seek something or someone comforting, and that was causing him to unconsciously reach for her? If that was the case, she needed to find someone who could tell her what was going on with him. There was always Mithril, but... Hmm... "Has anything been happening to Benjen recently?" she inquired.

The girl shrugged. "I don't think so. If he got into some kind of trouble, he would tell us-'calling for back-up in a troublesome situation is the logical choice' or something like that. But anyway, Leon and Kara are the ones most likely to know... Well, except for The Boss, but we can't really ask him."

"Hmph..." Their footsteps continued to echo hollowly down the staircase. They weren't even halfway down yet. "So what are they like, Leon and Kara? Are they particularly close to him?"

Mithril shrugged again. "Kara's smart, so she and Sparkers connect on an intellectual level, but that's about it. She's also his doctor, so she's been monitoring what's been happening with all the encounters with you. And like I said before, Leon's been here the longest aside from him. He's also kind of like an older brother or something-after what happened to his own family, I guess it was either cut off from everyone or become extremely attached. He's got a mix of both-he's attached to us, but he doesn't really show it that often to my knowledge."

"Oh?" Well. That made things a tad bit more difficult to predict. Would she be able to manipulate him? Or would it be better to take the straightforward approach like she had with Mithril? She was willing to give up her peace of mind to find Benjen again, but yet another retelling of the story wouldn't be good for her. Why, if she wasn't careful, she might do something she would regret later.

"Anyway," Mithril continued when it was clear the elder girl would say no more, "I'm sure he'll help you! He's Sparkers's best friend! Aside from me, of course. Ah-we're here!"

Kaz surveyed her surroundings. There were fluorescent fungi growing on the walls, but it wasn't enough bright to actually see clearly by even after her eyes adjusted. The glowing toadstools' light reflected off the still pool in the middle of the floor painting a serene picture of blue and green spots hovering peacefully in the water.

"Alright, here we are!" Mithril declared, brandishing the sword-polishing cloth she had rescued from Leon's room and thrusting it at Nicholas. "Do your thing, Snoozy!"

Nicholas obligingly took the cloth, yawned, and stumbled over to the pool, tripping and falling just short of it. Rather than get up, he lifted his head to peer into the pool and held the fabric in front of him. Concentrating his power, he managed to bring up a hazy image. The girls looked over his shoulder.

"Looks like a cave," Kaz noted, taking in the rocky background.

"But it can't be!" Mithril protested. "Where are the Zubat?! Caves and Zubat go hand in hand!"

Kaz smiled sweetly. "Oh, you're so smart! It's not like neither of them have hands or anything like that."

Mithril snorted. "Silence, mortal. I will not stand idly by and take your sarcasm," she boomed. The acoustics provided by the underground chamber's walls caused her voice to echo quite impressively.

The effect was wasted on her audience. Kaz returned to looking at the scrying pool. "I assume the one with the long blonde hair and the broadswords is Leon?"

Mithril plopped down on the ground. "Yep. How'd ya guess?"

"Well, the other boy looks like the son of the captain of the castle guard, and the woman is a member of Queen Crystal's research team."

"I see..." Mithril also peered at the water, deciding it would be a good idea to commit such important-sounding people to memory. Who knew when she might come to a situation that required it. "Leon, a kid, and Kara." She paused. "Wait... What?"

* * *

Darkrai waited.

And waited.

And waited.

"They're late," it muttered.

"I can't believe them!" Grisseo cried. "They're skipping out on a meeting with a _Darkrai_?!"

"How d'ya know dey're late, anyhow?" Lapis asked.

"I'm a Legendary," the Darkrai replied. "I've got an internal clock. As of now, they're forty-five minutes late."

"Does your internal clock run on Daylight Savings Time time?" Lukree piped up. "Because we returned to Standard Time a few weeks ago."

"Oh. Huh. Yeah, that might be it," the Darkrai realized. "Disregard my earlier statement. There are fifteen minutes to go.

#IHateGarconMorris hung upside down from a pink cloud. "Fifteen minutes? That's what, 900 seconds?"

"I dunno, math's never been my bes' subject," Lapis replied.

"Yeah, 900 seconds is about right," Lukree answered.

#IHateGarconMorris sighed. "One... two... three... four..."

The five waited for Orange to show up, Grisseo's Noivern counting every second. 600 seconds later, Darkrai felt something.

"They're asleep," it said, swooping down into their dreams.

* * *

Orange was dreaming. There was nothing particularly strange about this. Everyone dreams. And Orange was a very deep sleeper, so he had dreams quite often.

This dream, however, was not like the time he dreamed about becoming a pokemon master in a strange, futuristic world that had technology like what the ninja used. It wasn't like the time he dreamed about eating a delicious feast of roasted berries and barbecued beef. It wasn't like the time he dreamed of defeating the greatest evil in the world- _brussel sprouts_. And it certainly wasn't like the time when he dreamed that everyone agreed that Jo was the most wonderful banjo a hero bard could ask for.

No, Orange was having a nightmare. And a terrible one at that.

It had started out well enough.

"Big brother!" called a voice that chimed like bells. Orange turned and saw his little sister. It had been ages since he had been home, so he was very glad to see her.

That's where all the good stuff ended.

His beloved and only younger sister, was wearing a _wedding dress_.

"Akai?!" he screamed in horror. "Why-?!"

"I'm getting married!" she explained cheerfully. Suddenly, there was a tall young man beside her, his arm being used as a perch for her delicate hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, brother-in-law," the other male said politely, his face devoid of expression. His red eyes stared blankly at the blonde.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Orange wailed. The young couple was now seated within sparkling white carriage with its corners and edges gilded with gold. A familiar head of spiky chestnut hair identified the driver, as did the nervous blue eyes that flashed over to the young man and then back to the Rapidash in front. "AQUAMARINE CYAN OAK, YOU ARE IN _BIG_ TROUBLE!" Orange roared at his sister's childhood friend.

"Please don't kill me!" the timid boy whimpered, snapping the reins. The team of Rapidash flew (literallly) into action and soared into the sky, their legs churning as they galloped like there was no tomorrow.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AKAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

"Sister complex," another familiar voice scoffed. Orange whirled around and glared at the speaker.

"Like you have any right to talk!" he shouted at her. Lyra shrugged indifferently.

"You shouldn't be so opposed to your sister's marriage," Silver sighed. "If you don't want to see it, you should just get out."

"GET OUT! GET OUT!" the villagers chanted, taking up their arms.

"N-no! B-but!" Orange protested feebly before the villagers came charging at him.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!" they chanted, leveling their weapons to skewer Orange.

 _Why is this happening?_ Orange thought. _I just wanted to protect my little sister! Heck, who even was that guy with her?!_

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Orange ran into a forest, hoping to shake his pursuers off, but they simply set the forest on fire and charged straight through.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Orange dodged left and right as the forest fire spread. The villagers were closing in on him.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

The hero bard could see the end of the forest. He was almost free when a colossal flaming tree fell in front of him, blocking his path. The villagers were right behind him.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Orange turned to face them and slowly backed away.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

He could feel the heat of the flames on his back as the villagers came closer.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Orange felt the flames sear the back of his clothes.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

He felt the fire singe the skin of his back. The villagers lowered their weapons and charged.

"GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Right before Orange was skewered and incinerated, he felt something yank him upwards.

* * *

By contrast, Kara was having a nice dream. She was having tea with Miss Doctor Professor Adeline Nurse, DC., DDS., DMD., DPT., ThD., PSYCH., PhD., ScD., SScD., MD and Dr. Poke. Their intellectual conversation was very enlightening- they were having a discussion about the benefits of the Eevee species's many different evolutions. Unfortunately, something dragged her away before she could finish her hypothesis on how Eevee DNA could be used to create alternatively typed Pokemon, such as an Electric-type Charmander.

* * *

Leon was definitely having the worst time of it. He was reliving a waking nightmare.

Shouts were coming from everywhere. The clang of metal on metal rang out. A nine-year-old was curled up in the box his parents had hidden him in, trembling as he heard everything happening outside. Life in a village on the outskirts of a kingdom was tough- they were constantly being attacked by the kingdoms bordering their homeland, and although as many soldiers as could be spared were sent as reinforcements, it still wasn't enough. The village was located near Opelucid City, the place renowned for its powerful trainers- but those trainers were at a conference in the Johto region where the kingdom's capital was situated. The village was wide open. Their enemies had arrived to claim the area while the warriors were away, gleefully decimating the farmers as easily as squashing a bug. The villagers and the townspeople from Opelucid had rallied together with all the weapons they could find, but they weren't trained soldiers, and their militaristic neighbors had the upper hand.

Leon squeezed his eyes shut as he heard his father cry out in pain. He was terrified. What normal child wouldn't be? And so he remained within the box. The smaller body pressed against his was shivering. "Big brother-"

"Shh," he hushed his sister. They would be found if they made too much noise. She seemed to get the message and quieted, but she couldn't suppress her frightened shaking. He hugged her more tightly, trying to give her what little comfort he could.

Eventually, the cries died out. He finally dared to venture outside, little Aria following close behind. He hoped against all odds that the citizens of Konton no Tochi had pushed back the invaders.

They hadn't.

The tangy scent of blood flooded his nostrils, and he felt his stomach heave as he saw friends, neighbors, and relatives lying on the ground, the precious lifeblood seeping out of their bodies. His vision swam with tears. Why? How? Even the kingdom's soldiers had not been able to help? Aria let out a choked squeak and clutched at his shirt, but he barely registered it. He saw a burly man dressed in the neighboring country's military uniform standing atop a corpse in the royal army's armor. The golden sphere within oscillating violet circles emblazoned on the flag the fallen soldier was holding was a dead giveaway. He watched in horror as the flag was yanked out of the dead man's grip and burned. Worse than that, the other army was chucking corpses into the flames and hooting with laughter. Leon's eyes widened even further when he saw his father and mother being thrown into the fire as well. He stifled a sob, and the smell of burning flesh mixed with the smell of blood in the air. One of the soldiers had finally noticed the grimy child standing stricken in the middle of the battlefield and reached towards him, grinning maliciously.

"What here?" the man taunted, his Kontonian heavily accented. "Brat? No, two brat! Survivors, eh?"

Leon tried to shout for his little sister to run, but his shock robbed him of his capability of speech. He settled for the other option- he grabbed her hand and set her running in front of him, pushing her to go faster as he acted as a bodily shield for her.

But then she stumbled.

He tripped over her, rolling off to the side. He stood and made to run to her side, but and arrow seemed to sprout from her back at the last second. She lay limp, inert, dead.

"Ka ha ha!" the soldier cackled. "So sorry! Wanted to protect her, didntcha? Ye both blonde, so ye siblings, eh? Much bad! Ye fail!"

Leon's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, paralyzed with fear. No... No... He had failed to save his sister, failed his duty as an older brother, and now he, too, was going to die...

A small but ferocious black pokemon leaped out of the bushes, growling. He was dimly aware that it was the Houndour he had fed the day before after it was abandoned by its pack.

Then something pulled him up.

* * *

Orange and Leon tumbled onto the clouds, tumbling and convulsing wildly. Kara just looked mildly surprised.

Eventually Orange calmed down and was able to stand up. Leon, on the other hand, remained in his frenzy.

"Ack! Leon, you all right?" Orange asked worryingly.

"Of course he isn't all right," Kara admonished. "We have to calm him down."

"N-no need," a weak voice panted. Leon had managed to reach into his pocket and was now gently holding a Lunar Wing.

"Good, you're up," Kara stated. "Now we need to figure out where we are."

"Well, Leon's comfort feather is sparking," Orange pointed out. Indeed, the Lunar Wing was giving off dark purple sparks.

"Interesting..." muttered Kara. "The dark color indicates that rather than being charged with power, the Wing is meeting with some kind of resistance... Leon, try putting it away for a second."

Leon obliged and returned the Lunar Wing to his pocket. As soon as he did, a voice spoke up.

"Thanks. I couldn't get close with that thing keeping me away," the voice said. Orange, Kara and Leon swiveled their heads to the voice, finally seeing the Darkrai that was going to give them answers.

"Sorry that I pulled you out of your pleasant dream," it said to Kara, "and that I couldn't pull you out of your nightmares quickly enough," it told Orange and Leon.

"Apology accepted," replied Kara, "and now kindly give us the answers we were promised."

"Right, right. But first I should introduce you! They're here, guys!"

Grisseo, Lapis, Lukree, and #IHateGaronMorris flew/ran up to the other group.

"GRISSEO! LAPIS! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Orange sobbed, leaping toward his friends. Lapis jumped out of the way, so Grisseo took the full brunt of the attack. The boy was knocked over under the force of Orange's jump.

"And who are they?" Kara asked.

"This is Grisseo, a Darkrai fanatic I met when I was with Adamant and Lustrous. And Lapis is a ninja!" Orange explained. "I didn't know they had a Noivern. And where did you guys get that banana?"

"Excuse me, I am not _theirs,_ " Lukree proclaimed. "I am Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation, great benefactor to the pathetic humans, and I am _not_ a banana!"

"Hey! Who you calling' pathetic?" Lapis demanded.

"You and Grisseo, duh," Lukree replied smugly.

Lapis and Grisseo proceeded to attack Lukree, who repelled them with Close Combat.

#IHateGarconMorris sweatdropped and turned to the group. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "They've got cooperation issues."

Leon raised an eyebrow at the words.

"OMA! THE NOIVERN SPEAKS!" Orange exclaimed.

"When did this develop?" Kara demanded. "What has your diet been? Have you done any jaw training?"

"Uhh..." #IHateGarconMorris backed up a little under the bombardment of questions.

"He's not speaking human. It's just that in my dimension you can understand Pokemon," the Darkrai sighed, pulling #IHateGarconMorris away from the scientifically curious Kara. "Now, back to business... We've got a problem."

"A problem?" Orange repeated curiously.

"Yes... A problem," the Darkrai repeated gravely.

"Get to the point already," Kara exclaimed.

"Fine... You see, your friends are petrified," the Darkrai revealed.

"Yes, yes, we know. What of it?" Kara asked.

"They were petrified by a great evil that once came close to destroying the Earth."

The only evil Kara and Leon could think of that had that kind of power was The Boss. "Yes, we are aware of this evil," Kara replied.

"Oh, good. That makes my job easier," the Darkrai said with relief. "I need you to take the Staff of Shadows to the spring at the top of Mount Silver."

"Sure! No problem!" Orange exclaimed. "We were gonna do that anyway!"

"Also, you need to drop Lukree and #IHateGarconMorris here in there too," the Darkrai added, indicating the Pokemon. "Then they'll be unpetrified and help you make it to Mount Chimney, where you'll need to drop these guys in the lava."

"Mount Chimney?!" Orange gasped. "I was going there, too!"

"Yes, yes, what a coincidence," Kara said, tapping her foot impatiently. "Anything else we need to know?"

"Actually, yeah," the Darkrai said, plucking out a few of his feathers. "Take these."

Kara eyed the feathers suspiciously. "What are these?" she demanded.

"I'm glad you asked!" the Darkrai announced. "These are my feathers! I call them Eclipse Wings!"

"..." Kara stared.

"..." The Darkrai stared.

"...Anything else?" Kara asked expectantly.

The Darkrai stared blankly for a few more seconds. "Oh, right. Well, the Eclipse Wings are mine, so they connect directly to my domain here. If you hold onto one while sleeping, instead of dreaming you will come here."

He paused and looked at Leon. "Be careful where you put it, because if it gets too close to your Lunar Wing it might explode."

"EXPLODE?!" Orange exclaimed, backing away from Leon.

"We understand, can we go now?" Kara inquired.

"Sure!" Darkrai agreed merrily. "And remember, their lives are in your hands!"

Lapis stalked up to Orange. "If ya mess this up, Imma come back ta life, kill ya, die agin, an' then kill you in da afterlife!" he threatened.

Grisseo walked up as well. "You better not let Darkrai down. If you do, I'll let Lapis do whatever he wants to you, let Lapis kill me in the afterlife, and then kill you wherever you go after that!"

Orange paled. "O-okay. I won't mess up."

Kara went below the clouds. "Let's get going."

Leon nodded and followed her.

After threatening Orange one more time, Lapis and Grisseo let the poor boy go.

And they continued on to Mount Silver!

* * *

It had been two hours since Crystal's research team, headed by their leader, had retreated into the laboratory with the confiscated royal crown.

"I still don't think it's the crown," Gold muttered.

"And I still don't think you should have taken the throne, but that doesn't affect anything, now, does it?" Silver retorted. "Face it, Gold. The crown's the best lead we've got. Crys has the historians going through the royal journals, particularly your grandfather's accounts. Don't tell me you're sulking over the fact that the crown was taken away?"

Gold shrugged. "Well, yeah, it was a pretty sweet accessory, but..." He snapped his goggles around his head. "Nothing beats these. Don't they remind you of the good old days? Just you, me, and Crys, gallivanting around the kingdom..."

"For about a week at the end," Silver responded with a deadpan. "We only crossed paths occasionally. We didn't actually travel together." Still, he had to admit that the goggles did bring about a slight bit of nostalgia. Now his old friend was more like the grimy ruffian he had brawled with when he was ten, not the monarch he had come to realize he was. He missed the old days when the three of them were young and adventurous without a care for politics and diplomacy and everything else that came with working at the castle... Well, except Crystal, but she had always been the responsible one, not to mention she had been helping the court wizard observe the magical properties of various pokemon's teeth, skin, and fur.

"Silver? Yoo hoo! Silv?"

The golden-eyed man's irritating voice finally dragged out Silver out of reminescing. "What," he growled grumpily.

"I never finished what I was saying," the king said crossly. "Anyway, I'm not _sulking_ , I'm just not happy that you guys didn't believe me. There was nothing wrong with my logic!"

Silver stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head. "You never grew up, did you..." He ignored Gold's confused look and continued, "Remember why you snuck out of the castle all those years ago? What was it again? You wanted to become a hero? And that's why you're going to actually be useful for once." Gold's eyebrows furrowed further. Silver kept talking. "You've barely done anything in your entire reign. All the successful decisions have been made by Crystal."

"So what?" Gold ask grouchily, more than a bit put out by the harsh truth.

"So you're going to do what you did best. You're gonna charge in idiotically and save the day with a _lot_ of help from everyone else. Lyra."

Lyra dropped from the ceiling. "Sir."

"Take him to the front lines. He'll be assisting Captain Red in the war."

Gold blinked. "I will?"

"You will." Silver smirked. "I hope your fighting skills haven't been dulled by decades of soft living."

Gold cracked a grin. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm Gold, master of swordsmanship, rag-tag tumbles, and cheating at pool."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get going."

After Gold and Lyra had departed, Crystal stepped out of the research room, an eyebrow arched. "Well," she said, "when I asked you to keep him from underfoot with his shenanigans, that isn't quite what I had in mind. What happened to the chess rule of 'the king does nothing'?"

Silver shrugged. "When has this kingdom ever rolled over politely?" he returned. "Besides, it'll do both him and the soldiers good- he'll be getting the fresh air he's needed for the past twenty years, and the soldiers will see that their king is willing to risk himself out in the field. Hopefully they'll be able to deal with that particular threat while we deal with the other ones."

"Ones? Plural?" Crystal inquired. "What makes you think there are other parties involved?"

"This." Silver gave her a small piece of paper. "One of my shinobi arrived with it. She was missing an arm."

Crystal gasped at the contents of the paper.

Scrawled in blood were the words: "I AM BACK"

Great," she groaned. "More problems."

* * *

"Boss?"

"Yeeeees?" The Boss hummed as he continued to crochet a scarf for himself.

700 was sitting at the kotatsu, head down and eyes blank. "May I ask you a question?"

"And that is?"

"Why have you allowed my disease to continue for so long?"

The Boss put down his crocheting to prevent himself for missing a stitch. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

700's eyes remained fixed on his hands in his lap. "My disease. It hinders my mission, yet to my knowledge, you haven't done a single thing to remedy the problem."

"What brought this on?" The Boss asked carefully. "You've never questioned this before. And look up, please. It's rude to look away from someone while speaking with them." His hands strayed to his violin which was packed into its case at his feet.

700 raised his head, and The Boss saw a glimmer of self and identity in the young man's eyes. "I do not know. The question raised itself to me after you brought me away from the disease trigger, and I thought it best to vocalize it and find the answer."

The Boss appeared to ponder the question. "Well, you see... I have always believed that even if you were incapacitated, you would somehow still complete the mission. After all, I did train you since you were a child."

700 still seemed unsteady. "But when my disease trigger is near me, ever since that day... I find a part of myself wanting to know more. Why is this happening?"

The Boss looked at 700 sternly and picked up the violin, running the bow across its strings gently to tune the sound. "700, what was your first lesson?"

"Emotions are for the weak," 700 replied promptly.

"And what do you feel when this disease trigger is around you?" The Boss, finding the sound unsatisfactory, adjusted one of the pegs.

700 thought about the question. "Confusion and... longing."

"And what are those?" The bow was drawn across the strings once more.

"...Emotions."

"And what does that make you?" The violin sang, and The Boss nodded in satisfaction.

700 looked back down at the ground in shame. "...Weak."

"Good, good," The Boss praised, now finished with his tuning. He began to play an actual melody. "You recognize that you are weak. Now, do you remember what I taught you to do with weakness?" The Boss prodded.

700, still looking at the ground, answered mechanically. "Find the origin and obliterate it."

"And what is the origin of your weakness?" The Boss inquired.

"...My disease," 700 replied.

"And how can you get rid of the disease?" The Boss continued.

700 looked up, his formerly bright green eyes dulled beyond recognition and tinged with a malicious purple. "Find the trigger and destroy her."

The Boss's lips curled into a cruel smile. He set the instrument back into its case and resumed crocheting. "Good. Very good."

 **Petal: To be continued...**

 **Copper: Mmhm.**

 **Petal: You need to stop sounding like a gag. Like, seriously.**

 **Copper: Mmhm.**

 **Petal: *sigh* Please review!**


	20. Some Useful Stones are Discovered

**Petal: Welcome to this week's chapter!**

 **Copper: Yes, hi.**

 **Petal: We don't own Pokemon nor the entire backstory of Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Some parts should be recognizable to those of you who read PokeSpe. This is placed under manga. I wrote under the assumption everyone already read PokeSpe without taking into account the multiple other manga series. FORGIVE ME! Also, I discovered something important while writing this chapter. WRITING IN FIRST PERSON IS REALLY, REALLY FUN. O.O Also, did you know that the Anglo-Zanzibar War was only 38 minutes long? It's quite amazing.**

Lyra frowned as the she watched her liege who was riding in front of her. She had heard his talk with her father, and while she had known that they were old friends, she also had no idea how that happened. Her mother was no help with the matter- Soul and Silver had only met when he started to work at the castle at the age of sixteen. Asking the man directly had not led to any results whatsoever as he always took on an irritated expression and started muttering to himself, presumably about Gold's stupidity. The queen had met the duo during the latter half of their travels, and she had never bothered to consider asking the king. Maybe she should... "Your Majesty?"

"She speaks!" the king announced, a wide grin on his face. "Good to know you're not just a mini-Silv."

She cast him a funny look. "...My father talks."

Gold shrugged. "The only words that came out of his mouth when we first met were 'you're stupid' and 'you're weak'."

Lyra could see that happening quite easily, but she didn't dwell on the thought for very long. She was on the right track, and she wasn't about to let the train run out of steam. "Speaking of... how did the two of you meet?"

Her query was rewarded with an even bigger grin. "I am _so_ glad you asked that, dear Lyra!" ...She got the feeling that the king was going to tell a tale that was one fourth truth, three fourths ego-boosting. "It all began when we were ten..."

* * *

It was the middle of summer. A boy with a wild mane of black hair was sneaking out of the castle. Although he was young, he was incredibly handsome. (Lyra refrained from commenting on the clear show of superiority.) But his good looks were wasted shut up in the stone fortress! Thus, he decided to escape and begun his quest. Wha-? What do you mean, what kind of quest? A quest to woo all the lovely ladies in the kingdom! Well, _yeah_ , of course I love Super Serious Gal, but I hadn't met her yet. Cooped up in the castle and all that. Anyway, where was I? Ah, right. Well, the boy was sne- Don't give me any cheek! Telling the story in third person makes it cooler! ...But I guess it would be easier to use 'I'... _As I was saying_ , I was sneaking out of the castle. I was crawling on the floor, hidden beneath one of the huge, poofy skirts that noblewomen of the time thought were fashionable. My mom told me that the style was modeled after Mega Gardevoir... Personally, I always thought it made them look stupid, but no one ever listened to me. I can't imagine why. Still, it worked out in my favor! The skirt was so poofy that I could fit underneath it, and the lady never even knew I was there! And thank Arceus she was wearing bloomers, 'cause she was one of the nobles who ate a _lot_ and did nothing with the calories. I would've been scarred for life otherwise...

Anyway, we finally made it past the gate, and I slipped out of that god-awful cloth contraption before she got in the carriage. No one noticed me 'cause they were too preoccupied with helping her into the carriage, so I took the opportunity to run to the nearest mud puddle and roll around in it. Of _course_ it was mud! It-It wasn't manure or anything like that! Ha! Ha ha! Ha! ...Ha... ... Ahem.

After that, I went to town. I'd brought a bundle of my old clothes- what do you _mean_ , what was I wearing?! Plebe clothes, duh! ...Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that. But anyway, I sold the clothes for some coin and _definitely did not_ get ripped off, and then I went to buy a map so I'd know which routes to take without having to slog through a marsh or something- _I KNOW THERE AREN'T ANY MARSHES NEAR THE CAPITAL. I JUST NEVER PAID ATTENTION DURING MY GEOGRAPHY LESSONS_. Anyway, just when I was about to embark on my journey in earnest, this suspicious-looking dude smacked into me. He was carrying some kinda gray gemstone that had a bunch of different shades swirling around inside it, and he was also wearing black. Black! In the middle of summer! I still have no idea how he didn't get heatstroke! Everything except his face was covered! I thought it was dumb if he was a thief, but that's not the point. The point is he had the gall to insult me! I asked him what he was doing in a gracious way (Lyra guessed he had said something along the lines of "What the heck are you doing?! Do you know who I am?! Wait, no, please don't. But apologize anyway!"), and he just stared at me! Then he asked if I had rolled around in horse manure! Can you believe it?! I went through all the trouble of looking like peasant, and then he said that! I've never been so insulted in my entire life! Well, except that time when he and I were greeting some foreign nobility and they thought _he_ was the king instead of me, but that's a different story.

Back to the point, that was your dad, and he had stolen something from professor Elm's research lab. The prof. was doing some kind of research on stones and how they affected pokemon evolution, and I guess the stone was supposed to be in one of his tests. O'course, I didn't know any of that at the time. People will tell you that I threw the first punch, but he started it with his verbal provocation! So then there we were, rolling around on the ground and trading blows. People will also tell you that I was losing, but I can assure you that I was winning. (Lyra somehow doubted that.) He was a pretty easy target since his hair was so long- it was easy to pull. That's one of the reasons why he doesn't like people messing with his hair now. But what did I get in exchange for my troubles? A black eye, a bunch of bruises, and a stolen bag. That's right, a stolen bag. While we were fighting, it disappeared.

I knew immediately that he had had one of his accomplices make off with it while he kept me occupied! ...Except he hadn't. Turns out it was the Rocket Gang. You know that bandit gang that was big a couple decades ago? The ones who had red 'R's dyed into their clothes? Yeah, them. They were under the control of some dude called the Mask of Ice at the time after the previous boss was defeated by Sir Red. (Lyra thought the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place quite where she had heard it.) Silver was actually trying to _find_ the guy, but in order to do so, he was enlisting the help of Dragon Tamer Lance. In exchange for his assistance, Silv had to find and acquire a stone that could control the wind- the one he had taken from Elm's lab. The stone supposedly has the power to manipulate winds so powerful they could knock even the most stable of fliers out of the sky.

* * *

Lyra looked positively gobsmacked. "...Your Majesty."

"Yeah?" he asked, taking a sip from his water canteen. Story-telling left him parched even if it was only a part of the story.

"That's it!" she crowed. "That's the answer to defeating the merfolk!" Then she snapped the reins of her steed with a shout of "HYAH!" and sped back the way they had come. Her own rush of movement startled Gold's Rapidash and sent it galloping after her in a frenzy.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIT!" the king screamed as he clung to the equine pokemon. "I WAS ABOUT TO TELL YOU HOW I ENDED UP SAVING THE KINGDOM!"

* * *

Crystal shook her head. "Just what we needed," she grumbled. With a tired sigh, she continued, "We'll do some DNA testing on the blood- maybe the culprit wrote it out with their own bare hands. Silver, continue investigating." She paused. "...And if you have any time to spare, please keep my husband from getting killed by his rashness."

"He's always gotten out of scrapes before," Silver pointed out. "And he even beat me in a battle."

"Once when you were sick," Crystal deadpanned. "It was a lucky win and you know it."

"But he _did_ save the kingdom once, you know?"

"True, but I can't help but worry... He nearly died, you know?"

"But he lived."

Their conversation was cut short when Lyra vaulted in through the open window. She tumbled to a stop, her arms protecting her head from serious injury, and stood up breathlessly. "Dad! The stone!" were the first words out of her mouth.

"...What," was the response.

"The stone you stole from Professor Elm," the girl elaborated, fidgeting as she waited impatiently for her father's answer.

"Hold on a minute," Crystal intervened. "Lyra, you're supposed to be protecting the king."

Lyra waved a hand at the window. "He's over there," she said vaguely. Truthfully, she had no idea if he had fallen off of his Rapidash during the mad scramble to get back to the castle. "But the stone! If it's as powerful as he told me, we might be able to use it to send the merfolk to the ground where they'll have a disadvantage!"

Silver rested a hand on his daughter's head. "How do you know that, who told you how powerful it is, and why are you bringing this up." His grip tightened until it was like steel. Lyra was not particularly affected.

"His Majesty told me the story of how you two met, and he also told me a little bit about the stone. And why _wouldn't_ I bring it up?! It's our best bet against the merfolk!"

Silver shook his head. "I don't have it anymore."

"...Pardon?"

"I don't have it."

The man grimaced at the deflated look on the younger redhead's face. She had clearly been set on the idea of the power being used to put an end to the war more quickly. Unfortunately, life seemed to like messing with people. "I gave that stone to Lance as the terms of our contract required. He disappeared long ago into the mountains near Blackthorn, but before he did, he apparently left it with his cousin, General Claire." Lyra perked up a bit at the possibility of getting the item, but his next statement shot her hopes into the ground. "Someone broke into her stronghold several years ago, and the stone was among the treasures reported missing."

"No way!" Gold poked his head out of a tree located near the window and clambered inside. Good, he was okay. "Then we can't use it?!"

"Exactly, Captain Obvious," Silver drawled.

Crystal clapped sharply, drawing their attention. "New plan," she announced. "Gold, you and Lyra are going to look for the stone."

The monarch blinked owlishly. "I am?"

"You are," his wife nodded. "Frankly, it's our best bet at the moment. Silver will be leading an investigation for another threat, and I will be continuing my research on the crown's gem. That just leaves you. I suggest you start at Blackthorn and investigate any leads left behind from the case five years ago."

Silver nodded in grudging agreement. She was right. Most of the ninja would be mobilized for his investigation, and others were missing. He couldn't afford to spare a team to carry this out. Furthermore, it was a far more useful venture for the king than traveling to the front lines and possibly getting himself killed. "We're counting on you."

Gold grinned. He was slightly confused (he couldn't remember the last time during his reign he was depended upon to deal with something this important without advisers breathing down his neck), but he was also still eager to get going. He hooked a finger at the back of Lyra's shirt collar- or at least he tried to. The uniform was designed to prevent enemies from being able to do that, after all. He gave up the attempt and motioned for her to follow him. "C'mon, kid! We've got a job to do!" He jumped back outside, scrambled down the tree, and hopped onto his Rapidash.

Lyra glanced back at her father. It was glance filled with apprehension that the man remembered throwing at Crystal and receiving in return constantly many years ago: 'Is this idiot really going to go through with this and get through it alive?' Still, he had already experienced almost losing his friend. It couldn't possibly turn out as bad this time around; they were just searching for a stone, not trying to save the world from the Mask of Ice. He nodded, and she was on her way.

* * *

"KARA'S A SPY?!" Mithril screamed. She couldn't believe this. Kara, her faithful minion Kara, had been spying for the queen all this time! Inconcievable! It couldn't be possible!

The amused look on Kaz's face told her otherwise. "It would appear so." And her words, of course.

"But why would she do something like that?!" the younger blancette wailed. "I thought we were friends!"

Kaz studied the girl in front of her. Her lack of acceptance was slightly irritating; it was as if she thought that refusing to believe the truth would change it. Then again, Kaz herself had been the same with Benjen... but her brother had been kidnapped, probably tortured, and at that time possibly killed, not a spy for the enemy.

"Pull yourself together," Nicholas murzled, somehow managing to flop himself upright and hand the younger a handkerchief he pulled from within the baggy folds of his sweater.

"Shut up!" she wailed, though she took the handkerchief anyway and blew her nose with a loud _BLURT_ , muttering a muffled 'thank you'.

"Oh, do calm down," Kaz sighed, a saccharine smile on her face. "Sniveling is unseemly."

Mithril was unsure whether she was giving advice or subtly insulting her, but she blinked rapidly, tried to snort the mucus back up her nose, and wiped the track the tears had followed from her face. "Okay. What now?" she sniffled. "We're going to find them, right?"

Kaz shrugged. "That _was_ the point of scrying for him, but it couldn't possibly be the course of action, now could it?" she commented, the sarcasm flowing seamlessly from her benign grin.

"Hello!" a voice called. It echoed down to them before fading away. _"Hello! ...Hello! ...Hello!"_ "Are you all alright? _...alright? ...alright?_ "

"We'll be up momentarily," Kaz called back, kicking Mithril. "Get up," she told the girl. "Or you'll be left behind."

The youngest of the three dutifully stood up, continuing to rub her eyes furiously. She wordlessly followed Kaz and helped Nicholas ascend the stairs as well.

"Did you find who you were looking for?" Eleanor asked once the small group had returned to the world of sunlight and pollen.

Kaz nodded. Her smile took on a satisfied undertone. "Indeed we did! I recognize the cave they were in. All of you who are faithful, selfless fools, come along." She departed without another backwards glance.

While Lustrous muttered a question about how it was possible to recognize caves since they all looked pretty much the same on the inside, Eleanor fell into step with Mithril, gently urging the younger girl to move faster than the shuffling pace she was taking. "Are you okay?" she asked with a touch of concern, noting the blotchy redness on her face as well as the trail of salt that indicated crying.

"Sure," the younger sniffled. "Perfectly fine."

Even with all her optimism, Eleanor would hardly call Mithril's condition 'perfectly fine'. She was clearly grieving over something, and the noirette was determined to find out what and fix it if possible. "You're not fine," she said firmly. "If you were, you wouldn't look so sad. Can't you tell me what's wrong? I might not be able to do much, but I'd like to help if I can."

Mithril gave her a sidelong glance as if debating whether or not the woman was trustworthy. Reaching an apparent conclusion, she asked a question. "If one of your very best friends was actually on the enemy side, what would you do?"

Eleanor was mildly surprised by the question. What in the world had the girl seen in the scrying pool? Nevertheless, she answered to the best of her ability. "I'd be sad, of course, but... if we were still friends, would the side we're on matter?" Her stance on the subject was naive. She knew that, but she stubbornly stuck to it.

"I guess..." Mithril mumbled, clearly not convinced.

"Hey," Eleanor continued. "What's this all about? Can you tell me? Please?"

Mithril took a deep breath and let out a jumbled stream of words. "KarspyferQueenstal."

Eleanor blinked. "...What?"

Mithril repeated her words, this time carefully enunciating them. "Kara's a spy for Queen Crystal."

"Oh..." A smile slowly spread across Eleanor's face until she was positively beaming.

Mithril shot her an upset glare. "What are you smiling about? Laughing at my pain?" she snapped.

Eleanor giggled and shook her head, denying the girl's assumption. "It's not that! Listen... I can only assume that you used to work for The Boss, and that's why this Kara person is an enemy, but you said that you're going to be a hero on the side of justice, right?" Mithril nodded hesitantly. Eleanor's smile widened, and she turned to look at the peaceful blue sky above the trees. "Then everything's fine! The enemy of my enemy is my friend- that's the stance our kingdom's taken for decades. If there's a common enemy to defeat, we'll even team up with our bitterest of rivals to achieve our goal. By that logic, if you're against The Boss, then Kara will surely rejoin you, and everything will be okay!" She clasped her hands behind her back and looked back down at the younger girl with a confidently sunny smile. "Right?"

Mithril mulled over her words for a while before nodding in agreement. "Right!" she cheered, the lump in her throat finally disappearing. "Also, sorbet!" And so the two laughed and raced to catch up with Kaz who had strode quite a ways ahead of them.

* * *

Orange, Kara, and Leon awoke to the melodious chirping of Starly. The birdlike Pokemon weren't common in the area, but the weather up north where they lived must have been getting cold, so they could have been migrating. After the rather eventful dream last night, the trio was ready to make haste to Mt. Silver. Leon grudgingly allowed Orange to continue using Rusty in their training sessions, but the former insisted on cutting the training short so that they could make more progress. Resistance had been little for the past hour; they had only encountered an Ursaring and a nest of Ariados, both of which were repelled thanks to DarkFlare. Near noon, they arrived at a clearing.

"We should make camp and stay here for the night," Kara said.

"No," Leon replied."We can stop for lunch, but it's too early in the day for us to stop."

"But we may not come across another clearing like this by the end of the day!" Kara argued.

"Come on, Kara!" Orange whined. "We only have a few more days til the end of the week!"

"Be that as it may, we-" Leon shushed Kara mid-sentence, eyes scanning the trees.

"What is it?" Kara asked.

"DarkFlare senses something," Leon hissed. Indeed the Houndoom was standing rigidly to attention, its eyes set in a particular direction.

Kara observed the Pokemon's body language for a few seconds.

"It's not a threat," she finally said.

"How would you know that?" Leon asked.

"DarkFlare's body language," Kara replied. "It isn't on guard, and it keeps looking to you for permission to do something."

Leon waited for a second. Addressing DarkFlare, he said, "All right. You can go."

The Houndoom bounded off into the trees, returning seconds later with a small, circular stone clamped in its jaws.

"What is that?" Leon inquired.

Kara's eyes were spread wide open. She was quivering and muttering rapidly. Her fingers twitched as she reached toward the Houndoom. DarkFlare, thoroughly intimidated, backed away rapidly. Kara was about to make a lunge for the item, but Leon held her back.

"Kara! What is the meaning of this?!" Leon demanded. He had never seen Kara act so recklessly.

Kara took a few calming breaths. Once her fingers stopped twitching, she spoke to Leon.

"That's... a Mega Stone. I thought they were myths!" Kara exclaimed. "They're supposed to grant Pokemon immeasurable power when used in conjunction with a Key Stone!"

Orange got up in Kara's face. "Really?!" he exclaimed. "What kind of immeasurable power?!"

Kara backed away. "The specifics aren't certain, but..."

"But what?! But what?!" Orange asked, hanging on to Kara's every word.

"We think it may induce an evolution surpassing evolution. A Mega Evolution, if you will."

"Wow..." Orange breathed. "Mega Evolution..."

Leon raised an eyebrow. This was certainly good news. A stronger DarkFlare meant a short-term goal. And a short-term goal meant Leon getting stronger, faster.

"How do I trigger this Mega Evolution?" Leon asked.

"Well, you'd first need a Key Stone," Kara said, "and who knows where we might find that."

Leon scowled. He would still hang on to the Mega Stone just in case, but he needed a Key Stone.

"So are we staying here or not?" Kara demanded.

Leon sighed. He really wanted to make progress, but a Mega Stone was found in the area. That meant a Key Stone might be found as well. Leon knew The Boss would forgive slight lateness if he received appropriate compensation from experience; Mithril had often not been penalized for getting sidetracked and returning to The Hideout late because she brought what The Boss deemed "really cool bugs" back with her. And Leon was sure that the discovery of stones granting "immeasurable power" was better than any bug.

"I'll agree on one condition," Leon decided. "To compensate for possible lateness, we'll have to bring back a Key Stone with us."

"Deal," Kara proclaimed. "Let's start searching."

The three ate lunch, rested a little, and then fanned out with orders to return to the clearing by nightfall.

And they continued on to Mount Silver!

* * *

Lukree stared grimly at the dice. It was her last roll, and she didn't have two of a kind of anything. Leaving the six, she put the other four dice back in the cup, prayed, rattled, and rolled. Four more sixes.

"Yahtzee!" she crowed.

Lapis crumpled his scorecard and threw it on the ground. "Dangit! How d'you win _every single time_?!" he exclaimed.

Grisseo crumpled his sheet and tossed it in the trash. "You've already won 50 games! Let's play Uno next!"

"Fine, fine," Lukree agreed smugly. "But you won't win."

"We'll see 'bout dat," Lapis growled, pulling out a deck of cards.

Across the room, Darkrai and #IHateGarconMorris were flipping the metal rods of a Foosball table rapidly.

"I expected no less from a Legendary!" #IHateGarconMorris grunted, blocking a goal and rocketing the ball up the field.

"You're no pushover either!" the Darkrai muttered, taking back possession of the ball and knocking it back toward the Noivern's goal.

Eventually, the Darkrai put the last shot into #IHateGarconMorris's goal just as Lukree yelled, "UNO!"

Lapis, Grisseo, and #IHateGarconMorris fell backwards in defeat.

"Now that we've finished our game-a-thon, why don't we have some hot pot?" the Darkrai suggested.

Lapis and Grisseo immeditely perked back up.

"All right!" they cheered. "Food!"

 **Petal: And that's this week's chapter. Kinda short, but meh.**

 **Copper: Yes, hi.**

 **Petal: ...Again?**

 **Copper: So... We have Mega Evolution and game-a-thons. What next?**

 **Petal: Bloodshed, maybe? Anyway, please review!**


	21. Things Go Zoomp

**Petal: Terribly sorry about the lack of update last week!**

 **Copper: Yes, teerribly sorry!**

 **Petal: We were figuring some stuff out for the story...**

 **Copper: Yes, yes, figuring stuff out...**

 **Petal: And Lenalee did** _ **not**_ **go bald!**

 **Copper: Yes, yes, mmhm, of course not!**

 **Petal: Off-screen chattering and misunderstandings. I hope we freaked you out. :D Anyway, we don't own Genevieve, Mithril, Kaz, Lustrous, Eleanor, Nicholas, Adamant, Leon, Kara, or Monopoly. The joke Gold attempts to make at the end comes from the webcomic "No Need For Bushido." Lyra and Genevieve's exchange was inspired by a pair of best frenemies not-so-affectionately dubbed by each other BaKanda and Moyashi. People who get this, you know who you are.**

Gold and Lyra had departed from the castle a second time, this time galloping rather than cantering.

"What're we gonna do if we don't find any leads?!" Gold demanded, his goggles over his eyes to protect them from the wind rushing into their faces.

"We _have_ to find leads even if we have to challenge local crime lords!" Lyra yelled back.

"...Our kingdom has crime lords?! Didn't Silver get rid of them all twenty years ago when he was made captain?!"

"According to the records, yes, but evil never rests, Your Majesty, and neither must justice. Unfortunately, justice has less people on its side." The girl squinted, her eyes watering from the cold sting of the air. "You aren't going to run off and try to fight them without me, right?" The king simply grinned. Lyra sighed and shook her head. "You're as bad as Dad says you are... WHOA!" She reined in her Rapidash. The unicorn pokemon reared up on its hind legs with its forelegs flailing in the air. Lyra tugged the reins to the side which caused it to serve and land with its hooves mere inches away from a silver-haired human head. Lyra dismounted and knelt down beside the person and immediately gave a disgruntled frown. She recognized her.

Gold, meanwhile, was trying to wake the woman up. "HELLO? MISS?" he shouted in her ear, placing two fingers on her neck to find a pulse. "IT'S KINDA DANGEROUS TO NAP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, YOU KNOW?"

"Your Majesty, could you stop that?" Lyra deadpanned. "She works for The Boss."

Gold was silent for a minute before looking up to grin widely at her. "This is like an adventure novel. Let's take her prisoner!"  
Lyra rolled her eyes but nodded, tied up the woman and wrapped the scythe in a sturdy cloth. The king attempted to swipe it, but she stored it in the her pocket (she enjoyed the look of astonishment on the king's face- Queen Crystal had actually had the court mages enchant the ninja uniforms' pockets to make them larger than they actually were) and dumped their new prisoner in front of her on the Rapidash. "Okay, let's go."

After they rode for a while longer, Gold spoke up again. "Why won't you let me have the scythe?"

"Aside from the fact that it's pointy and sharp and my father warned me never to let you near something like that?" she responded dryly. "Take a good look at it. Notice anything about the blade?"

Gold squinted and caught a crimson sheen where the sun hit it. "...It's red?"

Lyra nodded. "There's Yul Berry juice on the blade. They're berries that grow exclusively in the mountains of southeastern Qi'Dreh," referring to a kingdom to the east of them, "and they're poisonous."

Gold rolled his eyes. "You could've just told me what it was. Super Serious Gal drilled the rest of it into my head hundreds of times, you know?"

"I don't suppose you listened any of those times?" Lyra asked dryly. She had heard of the king's infamous ability to tune out long-winded lessons.

"Sure I did!" he protested. "They also don't trade it with anyone, and hardly anyone knows about it. It's fast working and the only known cure is a buttload of common antidotes, powerful healing magic, and a lot of luck." He paused. "Say... how do the _not-ninja_ know about it?"

Lyra shook her head dismissively. "One of our agents was on a mission in Qi-Dreh a few years back chasing down a defector and was lucky enough to see a known assassin collecting the berries on his way back. He later saw him crushing them and dipping arrows into them... We're still researching it, and we've had healers try to develop a cure."

"And how's that working?"

She sighed. "Slow-going. There appear to be magical properties to the berries as well, and the mages are being extremely careful with the samples."

"What, is it gonna explode?" he joked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but my scythe isn't explosive."

Both travelers immediately turned their eyes to their prisoner. Now that she was awake and in control of her facial expressions, they could clearly see she was irritated. Then again, so would most people if they awoke to being tied up and uncomfortably strewn on their stomachs across a horse. She scowled at them. "You look like a bunch of fish."

Lyra shot her with the patented Gin Glare. "Watch your words," she warned. "You're our prisoner. _Don't_ test my patience. I'll tell you now: I don't have a lot of it."

The woman did not back down. Instead, she retaliated with her own heated glare. A blazing aura of hostility seemed to rise to surround them.

Gold attempted to break the tension with a joke. "I guess you're a little _tied up_ at the moment!"

" _Stay outta this_."

Gold flinched at the harsh, freezing tone of their words. Well, that at least explained where all the coldness went...

"Why are you here?" Lyra hissed.

"I could ask you the same question," the woman hissed back. "You're supposed to be with The Boss."

Lyra glared at her for a minute longer before using her leverage. "I have your scythe."

"How do I know you won't just keep it even after I tell you?" the woman demanded with a raised eyebrow. Her neck hurt from the strain of keeping her head up, and she wanted to move it back down, but that would mean surrendering, and there was no way she was going to surrender to this little upstart.

Lyra snorted. "Oh, just tell me already. It's not like you've got anything to lose."

"Could someone please tell me who this lady is?" Gold asked. "I don't really have a problem with calling her Scythe Gal in my head, but it's kind of getting old."

"Introduce yourself first," the woman said icily. This guy sounded like someone she was supposed to know but she couldn't quite put her finger on it...

"Oh, I'm-"

Lyra kicked him. "No one of importance," she finished. Gold looked scandalized by her blatant lie, but the woman didn't see because she was facing the side opposite to him, and Lyra just plain didn't care. "You may as well tell him, or I'll do it."

The woman pondered this for a while before deciding that she really didn't want the spiteful redhead to introduce her. "Genevieve."

Gold grinned. "There, was that so hard?" he asked cheerfully. "So, Scythe Gal," he ignored her suddenly stiff posture at the unwelcome nickname, "why in the name of my best bud's grumpy attitude and offspring were you lying unconscious in the middle of the road?"

"My coworker," she began, still stiff, "had the audacity to send me flying with a gust of wind. And she doesn't even know any air magic."

Lyra froze and glanced at the king. Luckily, he had come to the same realization as she had, and he nodded. Whoever this coworker was, she had miraculously learned how to use air magic. However, no magic comes easily- it is learned through weeks and months of training. But if there was a magic item that granted power... Like, for example...

The gemstone that was stolen from General Claire.

"Which coworker?" Lyra demanded, shaking Genevieve slightly. "Did she have a gray stone with her?"

Genevieve snorted. "How should I know? And FYI, stones _are_ gray."

"FYI, she's your coworker, and there are stones that come in different colors," Lyra snapped back.

Genevieve shook her head. "I was answering the _second_ question," she corrected her, not deigning to respond to the new bit of trivia Lyra had oh-so-graciously given her. "My _coworker_ is a kid named Mithril who is a disrespectful brat."

"I bet it'd take one to know one," Gold muttered darkly. Honestly, kids these days... No respect for their elders _nor_ their betters...

"Anything else?" Lyra interrogated impatiently. "Where she is, any plans of destination?"

Genevieve's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to kill her?"

"If we are?" They only would if the girl was uncooperative and wouldn't let go of the stone otherwise, but Genevieve didn't have to know that.

The two females glared at each other once more. Then Genevieve let fall from her lips a sentence that made Lyra's day.

"For even a possibility of payback against that brat, I'll tell you everything you need to know."

After Genevieve filled the pair in on what Mithril was doing and who had last been seen in her company, Lyra changed the course to the direction Eleanor's last transmission had come from, and the group fell silent.

"...Have you heard the one where a Christian priest, a Hindu guru, and a blind Taoist monk walk into a Japanese bar?"

"Sir, please stop."

"Yeah, old man. No one appreciates your jokes."

"Kids these days..."

* * *

"Ms. Kaahn?" Lustrous called, huffing as she barely managed to keep up with the rest of the group with her shorter legs.

"Yes, what is it?" the woman responded, not slowing her pace one bit. If this kid asked her to slow down, she'd tell her that exercise is important for children...

"Why are we heading for a cave?"

Kaz glanced back, eyebrow raised and a faint smile hovering on her face. She would turn it into a full-blown grin, but she was too stressed to completely keep up her facade at the moment. "Because that's what we saw when Nicholas scried for Leon. We should be able to get there before their tracks disappear, and then we'll be able to find them.

Lustrous frowned. "...But if Orange is in the group, then they're heading for Mt. Silver." Kaz stopped in her tracks, causing the little blonde to crash into her back. "OW! What was that f-"

"How do you know that?" Kaz hissed through her smile, whirling around and clamping her hands on the girl's shoulders.

Lustrous gulped. This lady was scary, and the fact that her eyes were currently closed made her all the creepier; there also seemed to be some sort of shadow hooding her eyes... "W-Well, Nicholas told m-"

"Not that! The Mt. Silver destination!" Kaz interrupted.

Lustrous managed to summon up her courage for a sarcastic response. "Does this pink _look_ natural to you? We were heading to Mt. Silver to repair a staff that's supposed to be able to turn us back. Presumably he's still headed that way."

Kaz glowered at her but somehow managed to maintain her smile. "So you're telling me that we've been trekking all day in the wrong direction?"

Lustrous flinched back. Had she mentioned that Kaz was scary? "...Well, really, that depends on which way Mt. Silver is-"

"I've heard enough," Kaz said firmly, releasing her and raising her voice to alert the rest of the group. "Everyone! There's a change of plans! We're heading to Mt. Silver!"

"Why?" Mithril asked, blinking.

Kaz shook her head. "It appears that we have someone here who knows their real destination." She frowned slightly at Lustrous, who flinched.

"Ad knew it, too!" she said defensively, jabbing a finger at her friend. He held up a hand and gave a small, calm, unfazed wave.

Kaz shrugged and pulled out a compass to determine where north was. "Alright, it's this way. Let's go." She marched off in the direction she had just pointed, everyone else hurrying to catch up with her. At the back of the group, Eleanor was tapping out a message to her superiors.

ME NICHOLAS SAFE GOING TO MT SILVER

It caused Lyra's group a less inconvenient direction change from west to northwest.

* * *

Leon trekked through the woods, looking for a Key Stone. He couldn't find one. Reluctant to let his time have been wasted for nothing, Leon kept searching. He was grateful for DarkFlare's assistance in laying out a scent trail to bring him back to the camp, but Leon had to admit that this was one of the few times a Pidgey's Keen Eye would have been useful. Though he didn't want to, Leon eventually gave up as night drew closer.

Kara realized her mistake several minutes into her search. She had forgotten, in her ecstasy, that Key Stones were rarer than Mega Stones, and that a Mega Stone appearing didn't guarantee a Key Stone showing up. Kara quickly concluded that her search was hopeless and returned to camp.

Orange just ended up turning around somehow during his searches and always ended up in camp.

Once all three had gathered, Kara spoke up. "I don't think we're going to find a Key Stone."

Orange sighed. "Yeah, I didn't find a single one."

"Tch. We'll have to hope to come across one on the go," Leon muttered.

"For now, let's just rest," Kara sighed.

Just as the three were getting to their sleeping bags, a rustle was heard in the trees.

"Who's there?" Kara demanded, turning to face the trees.

Leon and DarkFlare prepared to fight.

Chu ate one of Orange's snacks.

Orange started tussling with Chu.

The figure emerged from the trees.

The mysterious creature was a mostly black, tailless canine. Its front left paw was green while the others were black. It had a green muzzle that had black at the top. Something green and scarflike protruded from its neck, and a luminous green hexagon was stationed at the base of the protrudance.

"Kara. What is it?" Leon demanded.

"I don't know," Kara replied. "I've never heard of a Pokemon or animal like this!"

Orange stared in awe. "Wow... It's so cool!"

The creature walked forward until it was within lunging range. Orange and the others heard a voice in their heads.

 _Come back to me,_ the voice said. _I will need you soon._

The three stared questioningly at the canine. Then the Mega Stone floated out of Leon's bag. Leon tried to grab at it, but a green light repelled him.

As the Mega Stone reached the creature, it split into many gelatinous flat green things that turned into light and were absorbed into the creature. After that, the mysterious being loped away.

"What was that?" Orange asked. "The Mega Stone went all _wom wom_ and then it was like _shoomp_ and then it was absorbed into the thing!"

Kara was bewildered. "I don't know," she muttered before getting into her sleeping bag.

Leon recalled DarkFlare and retired to his own sleeping bag.

Orange shrugged and went into his bag with the Eclipse Wing in his hand. He would ask Darkrai, 'cause Darkrai seemed pretty smart.

* * *

Grisseo, Lukree, Lapis, #IHateGarconMorris, and Darkrai were playing Monopoly. Lapis was in the middle of scamming Grisseo into trading Park Place for Oriental Avenue when Orange fell on the game board.

"Orange! Whaddid ya do dat for?!" Lapis exclaimed. "I was about ta git Park Place!"

"Ow... Sorry, Lapis..."

Lukree and Grisseo were more intent on arguing about where Orange had landed.

"His head was on Indiana Avenue, which is mine!" Grisseo yelled.

"He landed on his hand, which was on _my_ Pacific Avenue!" Lukree insisted.

"Why don't you just make him pay _both_ of you?" #IHateGarconMorris suggested.

"That's a good idea!" Grisseo exclaimed.

"Orange! Pay up!" Lukree demanded.

"AAAH! WHAT DID I DO?!" Orange sobbed running away from the two.

"Orange! I had two houses on Pacific, so you owe me 390 Poke!" Lukree said.

"I had a house on Indiana! 90 Poke! Pay up!" Grisseo said.

Orange backed away rapidly, his hands in the air. "I don't know what's going on!" Orange cried. "I just wanted to ask some questions!"

"What do you want to ask?" Darkrai demanded icily. It had _finally_ monopolized yellow, even had a hotel on Marvin Gardens, and now _this_ happened. "Make it quick." _Or I'll make your_ life _quick_ , Darkrai added in its head.

"Uh... um... Adogcamanatamegastone!"

Darkrai sighed. "Repeat that?"

Orange nodded furiously. "Right. We saw a dog that ate a Mega Stone!"

Darkrai stared at Orange. "Dogs don't eat Mega Stones."

Orange resumed nodding. "Yeah, but this wasn't a dog. It was more like a wolf dog with a scarf. Yup."

Darkrai pondered that. "Did this thing have a hexagon on its scarf?" it asked.

Orange nodded even more furiously. "Yes! It did! A shiny green one!"

Darkrai nodded sagely. "Yes, that was probably the original Zygarde. I didn't know that it ate Mega Stones though."

"Well, he didn't really _eat_ it," Orange correxcted himself. "The Mega Stone was like voom and then it went all zam and then it was like zoomp."

"...That tells me absolutely nothing."

Orange prostrated himself. "PLEASE DON'T EAT MY SOOOOOUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLL!" he begged.

"Umm... Darkrai don't do that..."

Orange perked up. "Great!"

Then his vision went black.

 **Petal: ... *sighs* Orange, Orange...**

 **Copper: Yes, oranges are tasty.**

 **Petal: ... Anyway, please review.**


	22. Time to Meet The Boss

**Petal: We're a day late with the chapter. Sorry. And since a certain someone won't stop messing with the internet button, I'm typing the authors' note on my own, so now it's an author's note. We don't own Pokemon, Eleanor, Kaz, Mithril, Nicholas, Genevieve, Leon, Kara, or 700.**

"I hear hoofbeats," Eleanor noted, glancing around.

Kaz beamed at her. "Oh, so you finally noticed! Well done! It only took you half an hour longer than it should have!" Sarcasm dripped from her words as always, but it was lost on Eleanor who merely returned the smile delightedly. "In any case, it's nothing for you to worry about," the older woman continued more seriously. I recognize two of the aura signatures."

And indeed she did. Galloping through the brush came Lyra, katana held high and a ferocious glare on her face with an unconscious woman in the front of her saddle. She scared the stuffing out of Lustrous who quickly dashed behind Adamant. Mithril also jumped with a frightened squeak, Kaz nodded slightly to herself, Nicholas waved in greeting, and Eleanor chirped out an excited, "Assistant captain!" Gold just let out a tribal war cry and waved his sword around in an attempt to intimidate the enemy.

What little joy there was in the reunion was quickly dashed (well, except for Kaz, but Kaz found the scene wholly amusing) when Lyra stood on her stirrups and leaped off of the Rapidash, tackling Mithril to the ground and digging the katana into the dirt next to her head.

"Hello, Mithril," the redhead said calmly enough. Her white-knuckled grip on the hilt of her sword and the fact that her forearm was pressed into Mithril's neck betrayed her apathetic image. "Nice day we're having, isn't it?"

"Assistant captain! What are you doing?!" Eleanor gasped. Nicholas placed a hand firmly on her shoulder, shaking his head when she turned to look at him.

"...Yes?" Mithril squeaked, trying to roll out from under the other girl and failing. She tried to squirm away from the forearm, too, but failed again. "Uh, Lyra? Is this about the cheating during our Sorry game? 'Cause that was Nat! Not me!"

Lyra just glared. She knew that. Did Mithril think she was stupid? Honestly... "No, Natalie's already been punished for her offense," she snapped. "Trussed up like a turkey and interrogated, not to mention the dog pile back when we discovered it. But back to the point, I believe that _you_ have something that _we_ need."

"Heroic genius?" Mithril suggested despite the fact that she was close to being choked.

Gold frowned as he crouched down beside them with a feather in his hand. "Hold it. I was told you're a bad guy."

"Was!" she corrected him, beaming proudly. "Now I'm going to take over the world through heroic deeds, like beating up bad guys and taking over their gangs!"

"Not a bad idea," Lyra muttered, pulling her sword back up. "Unfortunately, we need something from you. It's a gray stone that gives the user power over air. Do you have it or don't you?"

Mithril was smart enough to realize that they were planning on taking away the cool magic item she had found, but she was naive enough to think that Lyra wouldn't cut her. The poor girl seemed to think that they were friends... Lima syndrome, perhaps? "I'll never tell you!"

"If you're certain." Lyra raised her sword and then lowered it, resting the point on Mithril's forehead. "A little cut and maybe you'll be willing to tell..."

Mithril yelped, frozen in fear, and Lyra took the opportunity to move and pin her down more securely. "Now!" she yelled, and Gold leaped into action, pulling off one of their captive's boots and socks. He held the feather poised to commence tickling.

Lyra smirked. "Tell us or it's the tickle torture treatment," she said smugly. When Mithril merely let out a 'hmph!' and turned her head in stubborn denial, Lyra nodded to her king who immediately waved the feather on the blancette's foot like a madman.

Now, Mithril wore shoes. She had not trained barefoot because she had seen no need to. Thus, the soles of her feet were not rough and callused and protected against the horrors of tickling. She tried to thrash away from the duo as she convulsed with reluctant laughter, but Lyra's iron grip would not let her go. Somewhere along the line Kaz decided it would be a grand idea to join in and picked up a few strands of the younger girl's own hair and tickled her nose with it, causing her to sneeze. Lyra just barely managed to dodge the onslaught of spit, but she released her hold on Mithril in the process. Gold clamped his arms around the girl's leg, but he, too, was forced to let go in order to avoid getting kicked in the face. He saw heels on the other foot, and after living with his wife for so long, he knew how much damage they could deal.

"Kaz!" Lyra roared. "What the heck was that for?!"

The woman shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time," she said airily, inwardly snickering at the turn of events. But while having fun messing with them was all well and good, she needed to find Leon and then her brother, something that would not happen if they kept dilly-dallying. Taking advantage of her positioning, she put Mithril into an armlock from behind as the girl sat up. "But the assistant captain has a point, dearie. Everyone here knows you have it, and you're only prolonging the agony. Giving up would be good for you." Of course, she knew that giving up was against the kid's pride and something that wouldn't happen easily, but she still needed to set things in motion. Either Mithril would be imprisoned or she'd join their side.

"Never!" Mithril declared, her stance simple as always.

"Darn it, Mithril, just give up already!" Lyra seethed, pulling out a few shuriken from her weapon pouch. Everything was going as predicted...

"Hold it!" King Gold interrupted. Kaz raised an eyebrow in surprise. She had forgotten to factor in the wild card- she had never actually encountered the king and only knew him as the silly monarch whose wife ran the kingdom's political affairs. However, that was only the face he showed to the public; perhaps there was some merit to his friendship with Captain Silver... "You said you had heroic genius, right?"

"That's right!" Mithril declared, puffing her chest out proudly. "I'm gonna make an organization that takes over the world through heroism!"

Gold smiled- it was an of-course-you-will-even-though-it's-impossible-for-you-sorry-kid-but-don't-worry-I'm-not-gonna-crush-your-dreams-out-loud kind of smile. "Yeah, that's a cool goal. But anyway, what do you think about working for us? Temporarily, obviously; maybe you could train under the captain of the guard or something. He's got this hero complex. So whaddaya say? You in or out?"

A non-violent solution. A pity; Kaz had been looking forward to seeing a bit of bloodshed. There was always the possibility that Mithril would refuse the offer, but she knew the girl's personality...

"In!" Mithril cheered, trying to punch the air but failing as the armlock Kaz had her in impeded her. "So, uh, could you make Kaz let go of me?"

Lyra nodded and motioned to the other ninja. With a sigh, Kaz did as requested and stood up, dusting off her hands. "Now," she declared, "I really need to get to Mt. Silver, so anyone who wants to go back to the castle, leave now or I'm leaving you behind. There's at least two days of travel left, and I do believe that they have a headst-"  
She didn't have time to finish her sentence as they were all teleported away.

* * *

Darkrai blinked at the blank space Orange had been. It wasn't time for him to wake up. How odd.

"Darkrai, sir!" Grisseo called. "Since we've played all the board and tabletop games in the Closet of Death," he indicated a closet with ripped Keep Out and Caution tape all over it, "we've started something new!"

Darkrai turned, "What is it?" it asked.

Grisseo motioned to Lukree, Lapis, and #IHateGarconMorris, who were engaged in an odd activity involving strange facial expressions and movements.

"Charades," Grisseo said.

Darkrai rubbed its hands together. "Excellent. Let's get down to business."

* * *

Orange woke up gasping for breath. Sweat rolled down his face. He remembered going to Darkrai's place, talking about the Mega Stone, and then- nothing. All Orange remembered after that was fear. Overwhelming fear. Fear seeping into every pore on his body, then twisting his insides like a pretzel and invading his heart. After waking up, Orange still felt the fear. It was dampened, but still there. The source had to be close. Looking around, Orange saw both Kara and Leon were fine and breathing evenly. He crawled over to Kara and shook her lightly.

"Kara," he whispered urgently. "Kara, get up!"

Kara mumbled something incoherent, shoved Orange away, and went back to sleep. Orange decided to try to wake Leon up instead.

As soon as he got within five feet, Leon jumped out of his sleeping bag and pinned Orange against a tree. He opened his eyes and realized who he had pinned.

Leon let Orange down, gave him a look that quite clearly said, "Don't do it again," and went back to his sleeping bag.

Orange crawled back to his sleeping bag. Trying to convince himself it was just a dream, he went back to sleep.

Almost as soon as he did, he heard a gasp from Kara. Jumping up and turning around, he saw her panting and sweating. He ran over.

"KARA! ARE YOU ALL-" he started before Kara shushed him.

She looked at him gravely. "We need to get going. Now."

Orange nodded. "You felt it, too?"

Kara looked at him. "I'll go wake up Leon. You might get killed if you try, so you pack up our stuff."

Orange remembered his earlier encounter and went to pack up the stuff. A few minutes later, Leon was ready to go, and they set off toward Mount Silver.

Orange's group had made quite a bit of progress. They could see the summit of Mt. Silver up ahead.

"Look!" Orange cheered. "We're almost there!"

Kara nodded. She hadn't said a word since the event earlier. Neither had Leon, but that wasn't really unusual. Anyway, Orange had hoped this news would bring their spirits up.

It didn't.

Kara remained grumpy the entire way up to Mt. Silver. The walk was relatively uneventful, and they really didn't do anything but walk... and walk... and walk... and occasionally dodge a rotten fruit headed for the authors.

Eventually, they reached the summit, and Orange brought out the Staff and the Pokemon.

As he was about to dip them into the scalding water, a person leaped out of the air and landed on Orange's head, forcing him into the water.

"Greetings, my minions!" he shouted, even though Kara and Leon were about five feet away. "Have you come to join me for tea?!"

"Uhm... Yes?" Kara guessed.

"Excellent! 700, PREPARE THE TEA TABLE!"

"Yes, sir." 700 brought the tea table out of a bag.

"Blblblbblb!" a voice protested from beneath the water.

"Oops," The Boss said, jumping off of Orange. "Sorry about that, young lad."

"N-no problem," Orange gasped. "But who are you?"

"That's a long story," The Boss replied. "700, set the table for five."

The five sat down and started drinking tea.

"So? Who are you?" Orange asked.

The Boss nodded sagely. "As I said, it as a long story. You see, I am The Boss."

"..." Orange stared.

"Is there something wrong?" The Boss asked, smiling jovially.

"THAT WASN'T LONG AT ALL!" Orange shouted.

Kara looked at Orange questioningly. Did he really not know about The Boss? Wasn't he a self-proclaimed hero? Shouldn't he know at least the _name_ of an enemy? The Boss wasn't exactly discreet about his name.

The Boss ignored Orange's complaint. He now had what he needed where he needed it, and he just had to grab Firestar. However, The Boss remembered that things are more impressive where there were people to impress. Gathered around were a measly five people, only one of which would be impressed by the spectacle of The Boss taking his sword.

"I don't have a big enough audience," he decided. "700, PREPARE THE LANDING PAD!"

700 looked surprised but brought out the landing pad nonetheless.

"Tippity toppity teleport you!" The Boss said as he moved his hands above the landing pad with a flourish.

A group of nine fell onto the landing pad, which did surprisingly little to assist their landing. Of the nine, Orange and Leon only recognized four each. Kara recognized them all.

As it was, the landing pad was chaotic. Lustrous, Adamant, and Mithril were trapped at the bottom, and although Eleanor was quick to crawl out from the middle of the pile, others were not as kind. Nicholas was settled comfortably in his position as second from the top and was either asleep or half-asleep. Kaz was standing at the top, and Gold was sandwiched between Nicholas and the youngest of the group. Lyra had fallen hard on the ground beside the landing pad and was currently rubbing her poor abused shoulder as Genevieve remained an unconscious sack of flesh.

"Lustrous?! Adamant?! Your Majesty?! Why are you here?!" Orange demanded in disbelief, not bothering to question Lyra's presence. Shinobi did all sorts of weird things.

Like hitting poor heroes-in-training on the head.

"Idiot!" she hissed, landing another blow in his gut. "They weren't. Supposed. To know." At his confused look, she shot a glance at King Gold.

...Oh.

 _OH_.

...Well then.

"Ahaha... Oops?" Orange offered.

Lyra merely shook her head and pulled knives out of her weapon pouch, moving to stand between the king and The Boss. "Well, they would've known anyway, so I suppose keeping up such a pretense is pointless. Draw your sword, Orange; rusty as it is, it's all you've got."

The Boss wasn't paying attention to the king, however. Instead, he was focused on the minion who had been working for him the longest. "700, m'boy, are you alright?" he asked with concern, hovering close to the minion.

"Kill... Kill... Kill..." 700 hissed. He was bent over slightly, his hands shaking as they reached for his knives. A murky shade of purple clouded his normally green irises, and his breath came in short gasps. He could hardly hear throught the roar of blood in his ears.

"Now, now," The Boss tutted, holding the young man's hands away from his knives. "Not yet. There's business to get to first; _then_ you can play with your knives and the trigger. Have some tea instead." He shoved a teacup into his minion's hands and then stood up, clapping to get their attention.

He wasn't able to. Everyone was too busy trying to kill King Gold, save King Gold, and restrain Kaz.

The Boss sighed. And then he pulled out a megaphone.

"Hello?" he said. "Hellooooooooooooooooooo? IS THIS THING ON?"

Everyone had now resorted to dogpiling on Kaz with their ears covered because, of course, the megaphone _was_ on.

"Ah, good, I have your attention. Now, 700, PREPARE THE TELEPATHIC LINK!"

700 had crushed the teacup and was holding his head in his hands, trying not to let loose.

The Boss took a look at 700 and decided that poor ol' 700 had prepared enough stuff today.

"Change of plans!" The Boss announced. "As 700 is quite incapacitated currently, I shall have to PREPARE THE TELEPATHIC LINK myself. Apologies for any inconvenience."

Then everyone had the sensation of their skulls splitting open.

* * *

The time is now. I have gathered my materials, and it's time to bring my plans to fruition. I bring my violin out of its case and cast a spell on it, causing it to float above the center of the circle of runes. Beneath it is the human sacrifice, a sniveling, whimpering, pathetic little whelp trying to escape. But there's no chance it will; it's far too weak and far too young to escape the binding spell I have placed on it. There is not much time until dusk arrives, when light becomes darkness. I pull the gems from their pouch; a brown one, a gray one, and a sickeningly bright white one. I am unsure as to whether it will work; the gem representing light is not ideal, but all the data I have collected claims that as long as I collect two of the elemental gems and one of the gems of light and dark, then it is all up to when I perform the ritual and what I combine them with. A solar eclipse would perhaps make it easier, but I want to get things over with; I am _so close_ to achieving my goal.

The gems have been polished and refined, revitalized by the ground deep within Mt. Moon, the winds high at the top of Sky Pillar, and the peak of Mt. Coronet. They hover in a triangle around the sacrifice of their own accord, and I begin chanting.

 _"Alk odho peiht, odho ladk sil hgoi, odho ladk sil aerw, odho ladk sil jlladk, zei lakhdr alsh jlladk hen dlakht, hals ghet rus ladhf ntu aldj lahgdmer ish odho ladnua. Ledni dhor lahgd, Yveltal!"_

It works. The shadow of Yveltal appears, and the gems begin vibrating rapidly as they circle around the sacrifice. The violin vibrates as well, accepting the power being channeled into gems begin to lose their color, reverting to the dull gray of the average pebble, and the sacrifice's writhing and thrashing becomes weaker and weaker by the second. A vortex of dark magic swirls within the circles, and I believe that it will work. It _has_ to work, or I will never be free of the accursed beast my ancestor trapped during his quest to take over the world. Sadly, despite his power, the fool got too cocky and was taken out by an assassin... I shake my head, forcing myself to concentrate on the task at hand. I have invoked the name of Yveltal; although I was unable to actually summon it, its power is still fierce and raging, trying to break free. I tighten my control through the runes in the circle, stabilizing the power as best I can. The earth gem has become a normal stone by now, and the air gem does not seem far behind.

But then something goes wrong.

There is some sort of rejection reaction. The power building in the vessel I provided seems to collapse upon itself, losing at least half of what it absorbed. The power slams back into the air and light gems, and the backlash whips against the perimeter of the circle. Yveltal's power is close to escaping, and try as I might, my magic is unable to fully harness it back-

The power flees. Yveltal escapes the chains of my runes and words, and the air and light gem go flying off. I throw what's left of my power at the moment at one of the speeding gems and manage to trap the air gem, but the one containing light magic manages to escape. Just as well; it was probably the main cause of the reaction in the first place. The runes sizzle and smolder until they dissipate completely, and the rock that used to be the gem of earth lies on the ground. All of its magic has been transferred to my violin. The human child I sacrificed is inert and soulless, a living corpse.

I have failed.

* * *

Then the group found themselves back at Mt. Silver, holding their heads.

"What... was that?" Orange gasped out. "Was that... _me?_ "

Lyra hit him on the head. "No, you dolt!" she snapped. "That was a flashback viewed through The Boss's eyes!"

"Ahem?" The Boss asked. "Attention, please!" Everyone snapped their heads up to look at him, and then snapped them back down because it hurt too much. Still, at least he knew they were listening. "THANK YOU. WELL, NOW YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. NOW, I'LL GIVE YOU A CHOICE. YOU CAN HAND OVER FIRESTAR PEACEFULLY, OR RESIST AND HAVE IT TAKEN."

"I won't give it to you no matter what you do to me!" Orange hollered. "But wait- why would you want Rusty?"

The Boss smiled. "Because Firestar contains the elemental fire gem. If you won't give it to me, as I said, I will take it. MINIONS- GO FETCH! Oh, except 700. You can go have fun with your knives now."

And the only sound after that was 700's senseless roar as he leaped into action.

 **Petal: Human sacrifice. Nasty business. And, of course, a cliffie! Please review!**


	23. Uh-oh, BIG Uh-oh

**(A/N: Surprised by the new author note format? Yeah... Copper's mostly dropped out of the story. As in, he'll only be writing when he feels like it. I'll be doing the majority, if not all, of the writing now, just like our account in general... As a result of that (and the fact that we are bidding farewell to the alternate paths format), the chapters from here on out are going to be shorter. Much thanks to Deathdealer1997 for his advice concerning writer's block as well as the offscreen issues. :) Everyone, please check Leon's dream sequence in chapter 19, or a part of this chapter will not make as much sense. I don't own Pokemon, 700, Leon, Kara, Genevieve, Mithril, Natalie, Kaz, Eleanor, or Nicholas. On a separate note, D. Gray-Man Hallow aired today!)**

* * *

( _IMPORTANT: CHECK LEON'S DREAM SEQUENCE IN CHAPTER 19. IT HAS BEEN UPDATED.)_

* * *

700's head was pounding. It hurt as if two powerful forces were clashing within his mind, both stubbornly refusing to back down and heedless of the damage they were causing around them. He thought he faintly heard a cry for help. His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into palms as the wooden handles of the knives encased in them cracked.

But he did not care. One side was forcing the other into submission, lessening the pain and quashing the emotions welling up within him. He had no need for such stupid things; he was an assassin, trained as The Boss's minion in the art of killing. From what he could tell, his co-workers had abandoned their jobs- Leon was steadying the boy who possessed the elemental gem of fire; Kara was speaking rapidly to someone through a communication crystal and casting panicked, frightened glances at tThe Boss as if she was committing a grave crime against him; Genevieve was uselessly unconscious; Mithril was babbling about heroism- no, a moral code of all ridiculous things, and Natalie was nowhere to be seen.

700 gripped his knives more tightly. He was, too, in a way. Instead of grabbing the gem as The Boss required, he was selfishly doing what benefited him.

 _No_ , something in his mind insisted, _you're eradicating a threat that would otherwise hinder your ability to complete your missions. Do not hesitate. Strike her down._

And so he obeyed it. Giving in to the fog and allowing it to cloud his mind, 700 lost himself to the dark, murky magic.

* * *

Kaz was not delusional. She had known that something was wrong with her brother, and her gut feeling was accompanied by strong evidence- mostly the fact that he didn't recognize her and did his best to run away. So yes, she knew something was wrong.

Wrong appeared to have gotten worse. Her brother's eyes were no longer green; instead, both the irises and pupils were covered in a haze of purple. Kaz knew that it had to have something to do with the the man calling himself The Boss- she _knew_ that this was the same man who had kidnapped Benjen fourteen years ago.

And she couldn't deal with both of them at the same time, could she? Her baby brother had grown powerful in her absence, and she couldn't fight an enemy while at the same time avoiding his attacks. So as much as she despised working with others, she called for help.

"Mithril!"

* * *

Over on her side, Mithril had been having trouble, too. "Stand down!" she warned, countering The Boss's orders. Her heart soared when she saw Leon help the dude with the sword that The Boss wanted, but it dropped just as quickly at his next action.

"Thanks, Leon," the guy said gratefully, regaining his bearings. Leon did not answer. Instead, he took advantage of their relative positions and reached for the sword.

"LEON, NO!" Mithril screeched, snapping Sir Sharp behind her and flying at the duo she was watching, propeled by the wind channeled through her sword. The Boss's eyes flicked to her and narrowed, but she disregarded the action as she bowled over her friend. "Leon, don't!" she roared.

Leon just stood back up, unhindered by the slight girl trying to hold him down. "Stop it, Mithril," he said quietly, drawing his swords. Orange scooted away as he realized that maybe Leon wasn't a good guy. "I don't think The Boss appreciates this."

"I broke off from The Organization already!" she shouted, tightening her grip. "Come _on_ , Leon- _stop it_!"

Still he didn't respond positively. "My allegiance is to him, not you. It always has been."

"Look me in the eye and say we weren't friends!" she shouted. Leon sighed and looked down at her.

Then he froze.

Her eyes were frantic, harried, desperately staring at him as if he could provide her with some sort of hope, just as his sister's had been that day.

"Aria..." he whispered.

"Out of the way, white-haired girl!"

Mithril jumped in surprise, and Orange rammed into the older blonde, much more effective than Mithril's own tackle had been. Leon was still surprised by whatever revelation he'd had and didn't do much to fight back. "So, I don't really get what's going on, but he tried to take Rusty, so he's working for that guy, and so he needs to be restrained, right?"

"Exactly," Kara replied instead, pocketing a crystal. She had no idea why Leon had stiffened up, but anything that gave them an advantage would be put to use. She morphed her sword into a weighted ball and chain and set it next to Orange to help hold Leon down.

"Oh..." Orange's face turned grim. Guess Leon wasn't as much of a nice guy as he'd thought. He turned to Mithril and managed to change his countenance to a weak smile. "Thanks for helping me out. For saving Rusty- and maybe me, too."

Mithril nodded mutely, for once not running her motor-mouth. She was still shocked at how easily Leon- strong, steady, powerful Leon- had been held down by a half-baked hero wannabe with a rusty sword. In front of her, Orange sneezed, but she paid it no mind. Something about her had shaken Leon, and she wanted to find out what. Who was Aria?

She was snapped out of her reverie by Kaz's shout. "MITHRIL!"

Whipping her head around, she saw the older blancette parrying... Sparkers's blows? Why? Why were they fighting? Wait... That meant that The Boss really had done something to him. "What!" she yelled back.

"I need you to keep Benjen occupied!" Kaz shouted, sidestepping and jumping to avoid two thrown knives. "I'm going to go deal with that infernal cloaked maniac!"

"Aye, ma'am!" Mithril raced over. This was good. Fighting was good. Action was better than pondering something she did not understand. Even if Sparkers was her friend, she could simply tell herself that it was a sparring match, just like the training days back at headquarters. She threw out a wall of wind to deflect knives that were flying at Kaz. "I'll take it from here!"

"Good. Thank you. And if you harm a so much as a hair on his head, I will kill you," Kaz promised, leaping past her and heading for The Boss. Sparkers tried to follow her, but Mithril stood her ground and blocked the way.

"Sorry, Sparkers, but your opponent is me!" she declared. Though... She knew that Kaz would definitely follow through with the death threat if he did end up getting hurt... That lady was scary... But she had been assigned stalling duty, so stall she would. Sparkers continued mindlessly attempting to go after Kaz, but Mithril held him back with her wind and swords.

Kaz, in the meantime, had made it to The Boss. "Hello again," she greeted, drawing her katana with her right hand. "I see you've done something to my darling baby brother."

The Boss smiled delightedly. "Oh, you noticed! My, but it's so wonderful to have one's work recognized, you know? Ah..." His smile faded to a contemplative frown. "But he's supposed to kill you, and yet here you stand. This won't do. This won't do all."

"Oh, surprises are the fun of life," she returned, charging in to stab him. He dodged to his left, wary of another knife ready in her other hand, and got nicked by a blade that had been hidden in her sandal before he leaped away. She huffed and kicked at him again, inspecting the small knife as she attacked. "Well, that's no fun!" she said disappointedly. Not a drop of blood had ended up on her blade.

"I would say not!" The Boss complained with no small degree of indignance. "Why, this is my favorite cloak, and you ruined it!" Had Mithril not been too occupied with the challenge of keeping 700 from attacking Kaz without actually attacking him herself, she would have commented that all of The Boss's cloaks looked the same, but alas, she couldn't even hear what was being said. 700 was a difficult opponent even when one was not his target.

"I do apologize, but that would not have had to happen if you gave up peacefully and released my brother from whatever hold you have on him," Kaz said airily, throwing a barrage of kunai The Boss. He dodged easily enough, but she snapped her hand and the kunai changed course. Magic? No, something caught the light and glinted. The Boss felt something brush his shoulder and teleported a small distance away, leaving a torn piece of his cloak wound in a razor-sharp wire. Both parties tsk-ed.

"You are a dangerous woman, Ms. Kaahn," The Boss noted.

Kaz beamed. "Thank you for the recognition. Now, please die."

"Oh, I think not." He was suddenly in front of her, grinning. "You would be a valuable puppet indeed. A little magic here, some brainwashing there, and I could really use you. You'll probably put up a fight, but I won't know if it will work unless I try, now, will I?" Kaz's knives and weapons clattered to the ground after bouncing off of him harmlessly. She resorted to hand-to-hand combat, but whatever magic he was using persisted in shielding him. If he had such a power, why hadn't he used it earlier? Was this all a game to him? He placed a hand on her forehead and began channeling magic into it.

Unfortunately for his plot, Mithril crashed into him. 700 stood a fair distance away holding a charm that deflected magic. It was no good against defensive magic, but offensive magic was bounced back. "Okay, that didn't work..." the girl mumbled dizzily.

"You tried to hurt him?!" Kaz demanded. Her help obviously did not know the meaning of following directions.

"Not 'urt 'im, blow 'im away," Mithril corrected, clutching her head. Then she realized where she'd landed and tried to puncture her human(-ish?) cushion with Lady Deadly, not that it did any good. The defensive magic was still strong and not about to be broken by a normal sword.

The Boss sighed dramatically, clutching one hand to his heart and the other to his head. "I see you really have gone traitor. A pity; you were useful. I suppose it's time to stop fooling around and clean up, then." He teleported away, reappearing next to Orange. "Hello and thank you!" he said cheerfully, snatching away Rusty and the Staff of Shadows and then teleporting back to the water just as Kaz and Mithril reached the location he had been just one second previous. He dipped the staff into the water, cleansing it of grime. The white-haired duo moved to race after him again (this time Orange along with them), but 700 launched an attack on them- a barrage of knives. Mithril deflected them all with a blast of wind, but it was proven a distraction as he appeared from behind them. Orange swung his only remaining weapon (his banjo), but Kaz stomped on his back, forcing him down to keep him from attacking 700, and parried with her katana.

The Boss estimated another ten seconds until the gem that powered the staff was sufficiently restored.

Lyra, Eleanor, and Nicholas, ignored until that moment, attacked, tossing their full arsenals at him and charging in with their close-range weapons.

The Boss's magic threw them back before they even got close.

 _Seven seconds._

Lustrous's Arcanine used Flamethrower, but to no avail. An Alakazam appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and used Protect.

 _Five seconds._

Genevieve woke up. Adamant knocked her out again with a wok.

 _Three seconds._

Chu, displeased with the idea of his 'allies' getting hit with Thundershock because of the metal of their weapons, started throwing rotten apples willy-nilly.

 _Two seconds._

Leon finally started to get up. Kara increased the weight of her weapon.

 _Zero seconds._

The Boss stood up. "Thank you all for providing such entertainment for me!" he called, raising his voice above the din. "This has been a most enjoyable time! Now, I'll be taking my leave! Goodbye!" And then he vanished.

700, Leon, and Genevieve vanished along with him.

 **(A/N: For the third time, everybody check the dream sequence? Yes? No? Just checking. I know some people don't read the author notes. So this half the size of this story's normal chapters, which kind of sucks, but meh. Please review.)**


	24. Cooldown Period

**(A/N: First of all, I have a message for Hofund, Chris, and Charles. PLEASE DO NOT KILL ME! OR MAIM ME! OR HURT ME IN ANY WAY! A bit exaggerated, I admit, but... well, we're nearing the end here, folks. And, uh... Well. They know what I'm talking about. I don't own a lot of things, Copper wrote that bit at the end what a surprise, I'm gonna leave now! *flees*)**

What do you get when a queen, a scientist, a ninja, and an advisor walk into a room?

A conference.

Crystal folded her hands. "Now then," she said in a business-like voice, "shall we review what happened?"

"The Boss stole the gem of fire and the gem of shadows," Kara said blandly. "He only has three minions left, but at this point, I suspect it does not matter. He has everything he needs."

"Which brings us to another question," Silver interrupted. "It's been a week since he obtained them, and we know he has the capability to teleport. _Why_ hasn't he done anything yet?" He glanced at the room's other three occupants. They were the scientists, the researchers.

"I've been helping the archivists go through the records, but we still haven't hit upon anything yet. I've got them all working overtime, and I've sent for librarians in the nearby towns, but it's going to take another day at least before we finish," Green answered resignedly.

Silver grunted in annoyance. "Great. I don't suppose there's any information pertaining to our other investigation?"

Green shook his head negative. "No, but considering the fact that we're done with most of the different eras recorded in the archives, it's likely that they're connected in some way. For all we know, the threats are working together."

The entire group grimaced. Considering how powerful the two parties were individually (it hadn't been an _amateur_ that brought back the message from the unknown threat, after all, and she was trained to put up a natural resistance to whatever might tamper with her mind, but she couldn't recall anything about her attacker), it would be _quite_ a bother if they were to team up. Very bad. As in the-world-as-it-was-known-could-end kind of bad. Hopefully the two evils would crush each other and the winner would be weakened enough for the kingdom's fighters to take them out, but life was rarely that nice, if at all.

"Well. Can I just say that if the world's ending, I'm taking my paid vacation early? Someone needs to make sure my wife doesn't go kleptomaniac in the world's last days."

Silver shot Green an unamused glare. "If the world's ending, it doesn't matter if you're hugging or mugging someone."

The spiky-haired man shrugged in response. "I would think you'd want your sister to have as few crimes as possible on her record in case the afterlife exists."

* * *

Orange sat in quiet contemplation as he watched the soldiers that remained in the castle go through their training drills. The monotony of the action reminded him of more peaceful times, though he couldn't help but wonder why they weren't patrolling for threats. In the week since the confrontation with The Boss, Adamant and Lustrous had decided to go home; Lustrous may have been pugnacious by nature, but neither of them were true fighters. Orange couldn't fault them for it, but he had grown to like them in their brief time together before the really crazy stuff happened, starting with the tornado. With the air gem found, King Gold tasked Lyra with ensuring it got to the castle before journeying to the site of the mer-war on his own to attempt to negotiate a treaty with the merfolk and fight if necessary. Considering the monarch's impudent and rarely serious demeanor, the latter seemed the most likely. The rest of the group returned to the castle.

"Heya, kiddo."

"Hi, Dad," Orange muttered as his father plopped down beside him. He didn't look up to meet the man's eyes, afraid to see disappointment in them. "Pretty lame of me, huh- when I left to journey, I went on and on about becoming a hero and defeating bad guys to preserve peace in the kingdom, and now here I am, beaten without even getting to fight him."

A callused, warm, gentle hand moved to rest on his head, ruffling his hair in comfort. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Life doesn't always go your way, you know? It's part of growing up. Besides, you didn't do too badly out there up 'til now, did you?"

Orange sighed. "Just small stuff. I was more like a good Samaritan with decent self-defense and combat skills, honestly, beating up small-time villains and helping people out. Heck, before I got mixed up with the whole thing with the magic stone thingies, I was just trying to get to Mt. Silver to get _this_ undone." He looked down at his Cherrim-pink arm and made a face. "I didn't even know about The Boss until Kara told me, and he may as well have been broadcasting his activities. I mean, he didn't even try to hide them! Some hero I am, huh?"

"What, you're going to let something like this get you down?" Orange didn't respond. "Look at me, son." Orange flicked a desolate glance over at his father before averting his eyes back to the ground. "Orange!" Red seized his son's head and turned the boy to face him, squishing his cheeks. Red eyes met red eyes- firm, wise scarlet against empty carmine. "You're not going to let a little thing like this get you down, are you? Like I said, it's part of growing up. No one can advance without messing up. I may be the captain of the guard now, but when I was a page, I didn't know the first thing about knighthood. I was just a cocky kid who knew a thing or two about brawling. Do you think I got this far without making embarrassing mistakes that your Auntie Blue holds over my head to this day?"

Orange looked at his father as if he had grown two heads. Honestly, he had thought that Red was some sort of god of knighthood or something. The man was high in the ranks as far back as Orange could remember, and he couldn't even imagine him when he was a page.

 _'Your kid worships you, mister knight,'_ a voice drawled in their heads. An un-petrified banana- _'I'm a Riolu!'_ \- yes, Riolu peeked out from behind Red and waved a paw in greeting.

Orange blinked. "Luk'ee?" he asked, voice slightly muffled. It was kind of hard to talk with his cheeks squashed and his lips puckered out, and his father had yet to release him.

Lukree nodded and hopped up to rest on Red's head. _'But he's right. You shouldn't get so depressed after just one loss! After all, even I, Lukree Hendershwagowich Dondricus the Third, fifth in line for the Lucario Kingdom throne, child prodigy at aura techniques, apprentice master of auraportation, had to take a few falls and get back up!'_

Red nodded. "See, what'd I tell you? Everyone makes mistakes, Orange, but a winner will learn from those mistakes. Are you going to learn from yours?"

The emptiness receded, replaced by determination. "Yehf. Yehf, I am."

Red grinned. "Good! Now..." His face turned serious. "Professor Rosanna told me you refuse to kill anything?"

Orange frowned in confusion. "Who's P'fesso' Ro'anna?"

"Don't try to dodge the subject, Orange," Red said sternly. "This is serious. On the battlefield, it's kill or be killed. If you don't want to stain your hands with blood, give up on your path now. You'll never be able to fight an opponent as powerful as The Boss- or become a knight- if you can't fight with intention of killing."

"Way to bring crush my dream, Dad," Orange sighed, but Red cut him off before he could continue.

"If I coddle you, you won't grow. Like I just got done saying, life doesn't always go your way. There are things that are necessary in order to achieve a goal, and if you want your job to fighting and protecting this kingdom, then you have to be prepared to deal the killing blow. Even if you think everyone deserves a chance to live, some people will just keep hurting and killing and destroying. Not all of the bad guys are weak enough to be dealt with just by beating them up and handing them over to the authorities, and you need to be able to get out of a life-or-death battle alive. That's why _you_ are going to learn how to strike even your own father with killing intent." Red let go of Orange (finally) and threw him a sword.

"B-But I can't!" Orange stammered. "What if you really die?!"

Red smirked. "Oh? You've gotten arrogant, haven't you? Do you really think a greenhorn who doesn't know how to kill is going to be able to defeat a captain?" Suddenly, he disappeared, and wind whistled as something flew past Orange. "I didn't get here by being friends with the advisor, you know," he whispered in his son's ear.

Lukree grinned. This captain guy was fast, and probably strong, too. Not as amazing as her, but definitely good enough to teach this kid a lesson. _'Have fun trying to keep up, Orange!'_

* * *

"Oh my..." Yellow watched with a frown as her son fled screaming from his father. If she heard right, it was something along the lines of 'don't just do that jeez,' and the response was definitely 'the opponent won't be nice in battle.' Honestly, neither of them had been home for a whole day and already they were doing some kind of training!

As if reading her mind, her daughter smiled up at her, steady red eyes so much like her father's and yet so different. "That's just how they are, Mama," she said, turning to watch the training match. "They both want to protect, so they both have to fight- ah, big brother took a swing. ...And missed."

Yellow chuckled, hefting her basket of herbs to one arm in order to free the other and ruffle Akai's hair. "Yes, I suppose so." She smiled sadly. "But that's why we're here. Someone has to patch up the warriors when they come back beaten and bloody from battle, after all. Now, let's get these herbs to the infirmiry, hmm? There are people there already who need them."

"Okay!" Akai chirped.

When they arrived, the 'people who need them' were trying to leave.

"I'm telling you I'm fine!" Lyra snapped, struggling against the combined weight of the nurses. "It's just a few scrapes, no big deal! I'm fit to train, so I'm gonna train! Guys, back me up here!"

"You got a nasty cut on your head when you got sent flying, assistant captain," Eleanor pointed out before returning to the task of peeling apples for the injured ninja.

"...Thanks, you're a big help," Lyra deadpanned.

"I try my best!" the older girl said sunnily. The assistant captain wouldn't get better if she was too active before she was fully healed!

"Ugh! Where's Nicholas?! He can take my place! I know he wouldn't mind!"

"He's keeping Ethan and Will out as you requested, dear," Soul said mildly. "And you aren't getting out of that bed if I can help it. Head wounds bleed a lot, and we can't risk you doing something to re-open it and die from blood loss."

"MITH!" Natalie burst into the room and hurried over to her friend. The white-haired girl was in a full body cast and was trying to roll out of bed. After The Boss disappeared, Kaz nearly followed through with her death threat, and it was a miracle that the younger blancette was still alive. "Oh, and LYRAAAAAAAAAAAA! HIIIIIIIII! WHY DID YOU GUYS ABANDON ME AND GO TO WHERE THE ACTION IS!"

Lyra turned away from the racket to face her mother. "If that idiot doesn't tone down the volume and the stupidity level in the room, I'm going to re-open this wound by bashing my head into a wall," she grumbled.

"What! You wanna talk this out with our fists, huh?!"

Yellow decided to step in before Lyra could agree. "This is a place for the sick and injured to heal!" she reprimanded. "Please calm down!"

"No!"

"With all due respect, ma'am, I'm fidgety, so please let me up!"

"You haven't even been in here for twenty-four hours!" one of the healers exclaimed. Honestly! Why did fighters always feel the need to move every five seconds?! Judging by Yellow's expression, the other woman had already dealt with a problem akin to this- probably her husband and son.

"MRFLMRF!" _THUMP_.

"GAH! MITH!"

"Hmph. Serves her right."

"That's not nice, assistant captain!"

"MRFMRFLMEF?! MFMRFMRF!"

"I can't understand what you're saying! Take the bandages off of your mouth!"

The tearing of bandages, a large gasp of air. "Thanks, Nat! I said, are you picking a fight?! Also, tattoo-ed eyebrows!"

"O-ho, finally, some action, YES!"

"NO! Get back in your bed, Ms. Gin, or we _will_ use tranquilizers!"

"Ha! I'm a nin-"

 _Phhht._

A head hit a pillow.

" _Finally_. Ms. Simmons, please keep quiet. I don't want her to be woken up."

"Are you kidding, lady?! I'm fighting her! Right now!"

"Ms. Simmons, please reconsider-"

"No way!"

 _Phhht_.

A body slumped over a bed.

"Now, Ms... Mithril, please do not try to esca- leave. Please do not try to leave. You don't want what happened to them to happen to you as well, do you?"

A squeak of terror and fearful quaking. "N-No..."

"No one ever could stand up to the head nurse," Akai giggled as Mithril cowered in fear of the woman.

Yellow smiled slightly. "You're right."

A messenger burst into the infirmary in much the same way Natalie had. "QUEEN CRYSTAL CALLED A CONFERENCE FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED WITH DEFEATING THE BO-"

 _Phhht._

Everyone who was conscious turned to stare at the head nurse. She shrugged. "He was being too noisy."

* * *

"That... could have gone better," Red sighed as he and his son walked to the conference room.

"Way better," Orange mourned. "I've never felt so pathetic in my life, not even that time when I fell for the Lillipup eyes and let Akai put ribbons in my hair."

Red scratched his head. "Well, I guess you aren't cut out for this..."

During the training session, Orange _had_ attacked, but only out of desperation and fear. The intensity in Red's eyes was scary when he looked serious. The attacks were good, but not good enough. Factor in the boy's almost instinctual actions to prevent death, and... well, he would never be the best warrior.

When the two entered, they found Lyra and Natalie sound asleep and in wheelchairs. Mithril was quaking as if she had just faced something terrifying (like, say, the head nurse), Kaz was smiling sunnily, and Crystal had a slightly perturbed look on her face. "Ah... Welcome."

"...Hi?" the males said unsurely. Maybe the head nurse really had shown up and lectured the work-a-holic queen to boot.

"Good, we can get started." Green held up a portfolio. "We originally estimated it would take longer to find this, but it seems luck is on our side at the moment. Everybody listening?" Lyra and Natalie were elbowed awake. Then, a series of nods. "Good. No questions until I'm done speaking, please." He cleared his throat.

"From what you've said and the evidence we've gathered so far, the conclusion we've reached is that The Boss is trying to use a ceremony involving gemstones created by a group of legendary pokemon. According to the records, they first popped up approximately eight hundred years ago when the world was in dire straits. People and pokemon were being killed, there was a maniacal villain and a psychotic, overpowered a Ninetales on the loose, and the legendaries were fearing for their lives. Fortunately, they were provided with a solution- Mew took action and revealed the existence of the gemstones.

"They had apparently been created thousands of years before by Lugia, Ho-oh, Kyogre, Groudon, Darkrai, and Cresselia, and they combine the power of four elements- air, fire, water, and earth- with light and shadow. Altogether with the proper summoning ritual and an instrument to channel it, they create a power that was dubbed Infinity, and with it, the people of the age defeated the maniacal villain. And before you ask, yes, a literal musical instrument. Why do you think The Boss is using a violin instead of, say, a staff? Legendary pokemon have the oddest whims...

"The gems can also be split into two weaker powers that were dubbed Hope and Chaos. While Infinity is a far more powerful force, it is used to maintain a balance between good and evil. It fought against the evil threat that was destroying that balance, but it also kept 'good' from getting too far ahead of 'evil.' Chaos helps events that will cause pain and misery, and Hope is meant to help administer justice and bring about peace and prosperity. The Boss used the summoning ritual for Chaos, but it's incomplete and weaker because he used the wrong combination of gemstones. What's more, there is a cooldown period of fifty years before the ritual can be attempted by the same person. As for his goal... Well, I'll get to that in a bit.

"Back to the maniacal villain and the psychotic, overpowered Ninetales, the maniacal villain was a man known as Odhe Silfjom. Silfjom was a power-hungry man, and he was adamant about capturing all the legendary pokemon in the kingdom and conquer the world. Unfortunately for him, the Ninetales, definitely the Kyuukushu Princess Lukree informed us of, had made Kyogre and Groudon so weak that they fell into a dormant state in which he could not get to them. As you can imagine, he was angered by this and decided to seek out vengeance. He went into battle and chased her with all the legendaries he had at his beck and call, and she fled to a secluded cave and created a barrier too powerful for him to break through, at the same time casting a curse upon him and his descendants that would give them slow, painful deaths. He was understandably angered by that as well, so he used a blood seal to trap her in the cave until. As all of those present should know, a blood seal can only be broken by the caster or the caster's descendants." Green paused. "By the way, 'Odhe Silfjom' is Qi'Drehan for 'The Boss'. All right, question time."

Orange's hand shot up, his brow furrowed. "Is everyone in The Boss's family named after their ancestor?"

Green shrugged. "I don't know, but it seems that he took on the name to emulate his ancestor. He once infiltrated the castle as a soldier to get the gem we possessed- the one in the crown- under what we have confirmed is his real name: Aionher Silfjom, Aionher meaning 'conqueror'. It seems his parents had a twisted sense of humor after what happened with their ancestor, but that's beside the point. Any other questions?"

"How are the earth and water gems usable if Groudon and Kyogre are in stasis?" Lyra called.

"What, you think I'm made of knowledge?" Green snorted. "None of the records explain _how_ the gems work in relation to their creators, only that they do. Any more?"

"Couldn't he have someone else complete Chaos?" Natalie inquired.

Green shook his head. "No, once one gem in one of the two rituals is bound to become power, the other two have to be bound by the same person or it will fail and another fifty years will be added. The Boss must have conducted more thorough research after his first attempt, so he's just biding his time now.

Orange's hand shot up again. "From what I got, we have all the proper gems, so are we going to create Hope to fight Chaos?"

Crystal smiled and answered instead of her adviser. "Bingo, young Orange. Our plan of attack is to have someone manage the instrument to counter The Boss's powers as it seems that most of them come from the gem. He is an accomplished mage himself, but teleportation as you have seen him do it is impossible so many times in succession for a human. Stripped of most of his power, he will have to fight on more equal terms with whoever is bringing him down."

"I'll do it." Everyone turned to face Kaz whose smile was frigid rather than falsely sweet. "That man did something to my baby brother, and I will not just allow that to go unpunished. I will fight him, and I will kill him. I trust there is no objection?"

Crystal shook her head. "Not from me. You are one of the most accomplished fighters I know of- I trust you can get the job done. Motivation to fuel your fire is all the better. Are we all in agreement?" She surveyed the room. Mithril looked like she wanted to protest, but one chilling smile from Kaz settled it for her. She also kicked Natalie when her friend attempted to butt in, probably confident in her chances with The Boss severely weakened. "Good. Now, as for the instrument... Does anyone planning on going to the front lines know how to play one?"

Orange's hand shot up a third time. "I can play the banjo!"

"Drums," Natalie volunteered.

"Leaf whistle!" Mithril sang out. "...Sorta."

"Piano," Lyra grumbled.

"You are not lugging a piano out to wherever The Boss is," Crystal said promptly. "So it's going to either be Orange or Natalie unless neither of you meet the requirements." The two blondes exchanged a look. Requirements? "Oh, don't give each other that look. Of course there's going to be sacrifice needed! For the Chaos ritual, you need a child, but for the Hope ritual... Do either of you two have any attachment to an instrument?"

Natalie blinked. "Why? Is that important?"

Crystal coughed. "Well, ah... The Hope ritual requires you to sacrifice something important to you."

Natalie shook her head. "Nah, Greg accidentally ran over my only set and also mistook my favorite sticks for carrots." At the group's incredulous stares, she mumbled, "And I _may_ have used them while making carrot soup..."

Orange blinked. "So then... That leaves me and Jo!" A pause. "Wait... I'll have to sacrifice Jo?! WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" Natalie and Mithril chanted. It was just an instrument, after all.

"No! Akai made this for me herself! You may call him non-living, but he's been with me so long that he's practically family!" No, it wasn't.

"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" Yeah? Well, they didn't care!

Meanwhile, Lyra's face drained of color until it was close to the shade of Kaz's and Mithril's hair. "...We are _so_ doomed."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"No one ever said that the musician had to be skilled," Green consoled his niece. "Besides, if we're using it for a weapon, it's that much better."

" _HEY_!"

* * *

After #IHateGarconMorris and Lukree had left, the dream realm had gotten a lot more boring. There were only so many three player games in the world, after all, and Grisseo, Lapis, and Darkrai had played them all. They were beginning another mindless Mario Kart race when Darkrai got a call on its cell phone.

"Hello?"

"...Uh-huh."

"...Uh-huh."

"...Nope."

"...Not really."

"...Yes, Boss."

"...No, Boss."

"...Why?"

"...Point."

"...Thanks, yup, okay, bye."

Darkrai looked up and turned to Lapis and Grisseo. "Hey, guys, we got a job."

" _We?_ " repeated Lapis. "Since when were _we_ workin' wit' you?"

He was drowned out, however, by Grisseo screaming, "YES SIR DARKRAI YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND COME ON LAPIS LET'S GO GO GO!"

Darkrai beamed. "Right, so I'll get to the point. Since we are all dream entities, we can search the dreams of people all over the world in very little time. My boss, Darkrai, wants us to go search up info about Kyuukushu in people's dreams."

Lapis sighed, seeing that he was outnumbered. Grisseo he could handle, but Darkrai was a Legendary. Accepting his fate, he asked, "So how do we git inta people's dreams?"

"Well, you have to think of a certain dream to find someone. Once you think of a dream, it's like a web of dreams comes up in your head. Then you pick a dream, and there you go!" Darkrai explained. "Come on, let's try! Since not many people know about Kyuukushu, and almost nobody knows her name, let's think of a giant demon fox."

Lapis and Grisseo concentrated for a second. There was a boom, and smoke flowed out of their ears, mouths, and noses.

"Oops," Darkrai said. "Sensory overload." It gave them both Revival Herbs, which they immediately spat out.

"THAS' BITTER!" Lapis gasped, spitting and wiping his tongue on the dream clouds.

"GAH! BITTER! BITTER!" Grisseo wheezed, curling into a fetal position.

"Good, you're up," Darkrai said.

"WHAT WAS UP WIT' DAT DREAM TING?!" Lapis demanded. "MY BRAINS EXPLODED!"

Darkrai winced. "Yeah, about that... I forgot you were human. Let me make a call."

"FERGOT?!" Lapis shouted. "HOW COULD YA FERGET SUMTHIN' LIKE DAT, YA LITTLE-" Grisseo tackled him to the ground.

"Darkrai's making a call," Grisseo hissed. "Shut up or I'll steal a village's crops and blame it on you!"

"Fine, fine..." Lapis muttered. After all, nobody liked to deal with angry villagers.

"Hello?"

"...Oh, it's you. Can I speak to Boss?"

"...Why not?"

"...Can I at least get in touch with Celebi?"

"...What do you mean, Celebi's not there? Celebi's _always_ there!"

"...I really hate it when you do that."

"...Well, I've got some humans with me. I was hoping you could go back in time and ask Boss- I mean, Darkrai- to make something that'll let these humans handle the sensory input from dreamwalking."

"...You have?! Then why have I never- oh. It's really confusing talking with you, you know."

"...Okay, I'm sufficiently befuddled. Can you just get Darkrai on the line?"

"...Thanks. Hi, Boss. I'm gonna be over to pick them up in a sec, okay?"

Darkrai turned to Grisseo and Lapis, who were silently rock-paper-scissorsing. "I'll be right back, guys." Darkrai concentrated, then disappeared.

A second later, Darkrai reappeared with full-blown uniforms. "Well, here you go. You can put them on over your clothes."

Grisseo did so gleefully, pulling the pitch-black long sleeved shirt over his head and climbing into the jet-black stretchy pants. He pinned a smoky gray badge labeled DREAM CORPS next to his heart.

"Dis could ackcherly be pretty good ninja gear," Lapis noted, pinning his badge on.

"Right!" Darkrai declared. "The Counter-Kyuukushu Dream Corps have now been formed! LET'S GO!"

And the three dove into the web of dreams.


	25. Why Dost Thou Summon Me?

**(A/N: ...So, guess what? Copper has decided to come back to the story. Cool, huh? Anyway, he helped quite a bit with the part in the middle and the magic and stuff, and he also wrote the end segment with the Dream Corps (obviously). You know, I was planning on ending the story in two or three chapters, but then Copper wrote something that seems like super-cool foreshadowing and I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH IT AND HE HASN'T GIVEN ME ANY CLEAR DETAILS ON WHAT HE'S PLANNING HERE AND I'M SCARED SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE- *muffled screaming, a** _ **THUNK**_ **, the sound of something being tied up***

 **(Lyra: Ignore her. They've clearly got everything under control. pikaree1 does not own Pokemon, Natalie, Mithril, Nicholas, Eleanor, and Benjen. All rights go to their respective owners. Please enjoy this surprisingly long chapter.)**

After Crystal managed to calm everybody down (partially, at least- Orange was still sobbing quietly over Jo), she turned her attention to Green and nodded as if in signal. The spiky-haired man took the hint and placed a bowl in front of himself. " _Slekt_." It filled with water, and he began to scry.

"How does that work?" Natalie whispered to Lyra, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"Magic," the girl deadpanned.

Mithril perked up, happy to know the answer (though she couldn't exactly move well with her cast). "I know! I know!" she chirped. Green looked up briefly from his work in order to shoot her a glare, and she lowered her voice. "It depends on the enchantment the scrying pool's got. Sometimes all you need is a name, but something that belongs to the person you're looking for, like hair or clothing, works better."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're just quoting someone else on this?" Lyra muttered.

Mithril looked offended. "Are you doubting me?!" This time, both Green _and_ Silver glared at her. She tried to slide down in her wheelchair but only succeeded in getting the bandages on her right foot stuck in the footrest.

Lyra sighed and whispered, "Advisor Oak is good at magic that involves gathering information- accelerating the rate the brain can take in information, lie detectors, scrying, stuff like that. Who knows if he'll be able to find The Boss, though..."

"But The Boss's violin has a forcefield that can protect him from that stuff!" Mithril exclaimed, her voice rising a third time.

Silence reigned until Green broke it.

"Oh, _now_ you tell us," he said dryly. "I appreciate it, I really do."

"...Oopsy?" Mithril tittered nervously and tried to free her arms of their casts so she could wheel herself behind someone else and use them as a shield against the glares the more serious people in the room were sending her way.

"Shouldn't Hope's power be able to assist the scrying if that's what we're up against?" Kaz suggested when she got bored of freaking out the younger blancette. It was an amusing pastime, but there was a deadline to meet before her brother's mental state deteriorated to somewhere beyond her (and the medical ward's) reach.

"Right," Crystal said briskly, standing up. "That was originally supposed to be the second order of business, but I suppose there's nothing else for it. We will reconvene an hour before dawn tomorrow at the ninja squad's training field, just in case Orange doesn't get his magic training through his head." She glanced at Red. "I hope your son inherited at least a tenth of his mother's magic capacity?"

He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, he _should_ have enough power, but, uh... Well, his pronunciation of the Qi'Drehan language isn't very good..."

"We'll work with what we have," the queen said dismissively. They didn't really have much of a choice, after all. All they could do was prepare the kid as much as they could and then hope for the best. "Silver, can you clear your subordinates out and guard the gems?"

"Of course."

"Perfect. This meeting is adjourned."

* * *

"Dad? Why d'I nee' ta learn hata pr'nounsh Kid'ayan?" Orange asked over dinner that night.

"Qi'Drehan, dear," Yellow corrected him. Key-dray-an, though the last syllable was pronounced quickly, almost uncaught by Orange's ears. "And don't talk with your mouth full."

"Qi'Drehan's the language of magic, kiddo," Red explained. "All chants are said in it."

"Why?"

"...I'm fielding this question to your mother," Red coughed before diving back into his bread and Tamato berry stew. He was a warrior, not a mage; healers knew more about this kind of stuff because those capable used magic as well as herbs.

Yellow chuckled. "It isn't that complicated. Akai?"

"Using magic is using the essence of the forces of nature," the black-haired girl recited. "The Qi'Drehan people built their language around magic, and magic theorists say that the words captured the essences and no other language can summon magic."

Orange grinned and ruffled her hair. "Someone's been studying hard while I've been away, eh?" he chuckled.

"Big brother, stop it!" she protested, batting his hand away. "Or else..." Her spoon swooped towards his bowl and stole a succulent chunk of Tamato berry to deliver into her own.

"Hey! No fair!" Orange protested. Chu laughed uproariously before Chuchu pushed him back to his meal. He looked like protesting, but Pika gave him a severe glare. "Alright, then-!" Orange's spoon dove to Akai's bowl only to be stopped short when her Pidgey pecked his hand.

"Watch your horseplay," Yellow sighed, removing her own bowl from the fray. "We don't want a repeat of the food fight incident, do we?"

"No!" her children responded, both looking distinctly frightened. The visiting tailor Ruby had gotten hit by a stray piece of Bluk berry that escaped via the window, and... Well, the man was a known neat freak and had been wearing a _white_ shirt of all inconvenient colors. The repercussions had been far less pretty than Princess Topaz's birthday dress (which also got ruined by the very person it was intended for, but that was a story in itself). Granted, he wasn't anywhere near the capital at the moment, but they didn't want to risk something similar happening.

Orange and Akai returned more peacefully to their dinner, and Orange grinned slightly. He'd missed this- the closeness of his family, the secureness of his parents' presence. He did enjoy the road (wanderlust had run in his father's family for generations and usually hit in the teenage years; thankfully, Akai had inherited their mother's more grounded attitude towards home), but learning from his father, putting up with his mother's light nagging, messing with his sister and being messed with in return, the pokemons' interference...

The easy familiarity was nice.

* * *

Orange flopped into his bed, grateful for it. The group had only returned in the morning, after all- they were originally a ways away from the capital, and having injured people didn't really help their progress. He sniffed his pillow, recognizing the heather-y scent of the soap his mother received for free from the medical ward. The wooden carvings of pokemon that his father had made when he was a boy and the crude attempts of his own were on their normal perch of his windowsill, and the paintings he and his mother, and eventually his sister, had made on the walls were still there as well. He recognized the Viridian forest, his mother's birthplace, and Pallet Village, his father's hometown. A barren, rocky place that his mother had told him was where Green had trained her in magic; a peaceful glen with pokemon and animals going about their daily lives; the nearby woods where he and his friends had always played in as children... He would have to visit them after the battle with The Boss if he survived. He hadn't done so yet, and he'd likely be leaving as soon as the evil mage was located. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall into slumber, but was awakened immediately by his parents' whispers. He quietly slipped out of bed and snuck to his door, glancing through the crack into the kitchen.

"I'm scared for him, Red," Yellow said softly. "He's been okay so far, but against such a dangerous opponent? What if he doesn't make it?"

"He will," Red responded gently. "He's got _our_ blood running through his veins, after all; he's tough. Besides, he's not going to be doing the fighting, remember? He's on the support team."

"But still, there's just so much that could go _wrong_! A stray blow, being targeted- he's limiting The Boss's power, what if someone's sent after him because of that?"

"He'll be all right."

"Red, he's _only seventeen_ -!"

"That's plenty old enough to defeat an evil villain and make a name for himself. He's already adventured, traveled, seen a lot stuff, and I'm sure he'll pull through." Red squeezed his wife's hand. "Besides, how old were _we_ when we fought Giovanni? And Lance?"

Her lips tightened in a thin line. "...I suppose you have a point. But I still don't like it."

Red chuckled. "It figures. But think about it- how did Wilton feel when he went to Viridian and you weren't there?"

"Uncle was always telling me to go out into the world like other young folks my age," the blonde woman deadpanned, though her voice sounded slightly choked. "...I'm worried, Red."

"And so am I, but he'll be _fine_ ," he assured her.

A silence fell upon the couple, and Orange snuck back under the covers. Pika drowsily raised his head from where he was curled up with Chuchu and Chu, but Orange shook his head- everything was okay. Apparently satisfied, the Pikachu dropped his head and resumed dozing.

There was no 'if' about it now. Orange _was_ going to return from the fight with The Boss alive. He wasn't just about to let down his parents. Besides, his father was right. He was on the support team and out of direct conflict. Dying on the job would be _lame_.

* * *

Orange was awoken and dragged to the kitchen an hour and a half before dawn. Atop the table were all his childhood favorites- Pecha berry pancakes, Oran berry juice, Belue berry waffles, scrambled eggs, toast with Bluk berry jam spread on it. "Gee, is it my funeral breakfast?" he joked.

Bad move. His mother paled and clutched his arm more tightly. "... _Please_ don't say that," she whispered. His father, Pika, and Chuchu gave him accusing glares, and he winced.

His lifeline arrived in the form of a very sleepy Akai. Despite not being an early riser, she forced herself up in order to say what might be her final goodbye to her brother.

After a tense breakfast in which Akai almost fell asleep in her soup and Orange attempted to ease the mood by cracking bad jokes he had heard from Natalie the day before, it was time to depart to the training field.

"Orange, be careful," Yellow said apprehensively. "Ah- wait here." She sped off back into the house. Orange blinked.

"...I don't remember getting such a worried send-off when I was thirteen and about to face the world," he mused.

"Your life wasn't on the line then," Akai said candidly, leaning against him as if he was an oversized pillow. "Come back alive, big brother."

"Found it!" Yellow came running back and plopped a straw hat on her son's head. When he blinked uncomprehensively, she explained, "Think of it as a good luck charm. I wore it when I went adventuring at the behest of Blue. Good... bye."

"Don't look so sad, Mom!" he said quickly, hugging her. "I'll be back! As soon as Kaz beats The Boss, home is the first place I'll go!"

"You'd better," she sniffled, hugging him tightly back.

They stood there for a while, just so Yellow could be sure he was still standing before he left.

* * *

"Kaz!"

Kaz glanced behind herself and saw Eleanor running towards her, a package in her hands. Nicholas stumbled along after. "Yes?"

"We brought this for you," the girl exclaimed, holding up the package and gasping for breath. "I bet you're wondering what's in it!"

Actually, Kaz was wondering why a shinobi was out of breath just from running, but she _did_ want to know what useless, sentimental thing they wanted to give her, so she put her comment aside for a moment and quirked a questioning eyebrow. She accepted the gift and unwrapped it, then found it filled with herbs. She recognized them- rosemary, ginkgo, and ginseng to name a few. But what was the lavender doing there? She looked up again. "I don't suppose you think I'm going senile, do you?"

"That's not it at all!" Eleanor exclaimed frantically. "Um... since Benjen forgot about you, I was hoping that herbs that help memory might help him! And, well... Emerald from the research department told me that your Gengar was caught in Lavender Village, and that area has a lot of lavender, so I thought it might help jog his memory..."

And Kaz had smelled strongly like lavender when she first arrived- the scent had faded over time, but Nicholas hadn't forgotten, mostly because the strong smell used to keep him from falling asleep.

Kaz's smile widened. She thanked them, polite as always, and continued on her way.

"Hey, Nicholas?" Eleanor said as she watched the olders ninja's form recede into the distance. "Do you think her smile was... I dunno... _happier_ than it usually is? I mean, she's always smiling, but I feel like she was actually really happy just then, you know? ...Nicholas?"

Nicholas had fallen asleep.

Kaz continued to walk, her smile returning to its normal sickly sweetness. Genuine happiness? Right... She wouldn't feel it until Benjen returned fully.

She did appreciate that they were trying to help, though.

(But they were still ignorant and annoying greenhorns as far as she was concerned.)

* * *

"Alright, everyone's here," Crystal exhaled. They were an hour ahead of schedule, that was good. "Orange, you'll be reading this-" she handed him a slip of paper, "-for the ritual. Do you know how to use magic?" Please, please, _please_ , Arceus, let him know...

"Uh, well, kinda..." Orange said sheepishly. "I never was good at theory."

"We're doomed," Lyra groaned. Mithril, now free of her body cast, stomped on her foot. Natalie didn't bother to reprimand her friend, instead opting to sleepily pull her pilot shades over her eyes.

"It's easy!" Crystal said encouragingly. "We'll just give you a crash course. Green?"

Green stepped forward. "Right. Orange, since you're a swordsman, we've created a special speed method just for you."

"Really? Wow!" Orange gasped, amazed.

Green coughed. "Right, so the first part of magic is feeling the energy around you. Orange, can you tell me how many fingers I'm about to hold up in front of you? Close your eyes."

Orange closed his eyes and focused. As any decent warrior could, he could sense the life energy radiating off of the five humans around him. He focused on the one in front of him.

Orange could see an extremely faint silhouette if he focused hard, but he couldn't make out the number of fingers.

"Are you focusing on me?" Green asked.

"Yes!" Orange replied.

"That's no good. Try to sense the life energy of _everything_ around you!"

Orange relaxed, and he was once more aware of everyone around him. He listened, and heard the earth's heartbeat. He subconsciously began breathing to the beat. Slowly but surely, he began sensing green flames, weakly at first, but then more powerfully. he could clearly see the shape of everyone around him, and countless tiny green flames dotted the thin red flames that he assumed to be grass. Orange looked in front of him, and he saw green flames in the shape of Advisor Oak. Orange concentrated on his hands, and saw two green flames sticking out from a circular flame.

"Two!" he declared.

"That's right. You can open your eyes now," Green said.

Orange opened his eyes. "Is that it?" he asked.

Green shook his head. "No. Next you have to learn how to summon the energy and shape it."

Orange nodded. "So how do I do that?"

"Start sensing life energy again. Then try pooling that energy into your hand."

Orange closed his eyes and started sensing the green flames again. He willed the flames to come to him.

They didn't.

"They aren't coming!" Orange shouted.

"That's because you tried to force the energy. Only those with incredible willpower can force life energy to bend to their will. You have to _persuade_ the energy to come to you," Green replied.

Orange nodded. "Right. Persuade. Got it." Orange tried using his own energy to send up a beacon.

It didn't work.

Orange tried calling with his mind. _Hey, party! Festival over here! We're gonna make magic!_

It didn't work.

Orange tried sending out warm, fuzzy feelings to make the flames easier to sway.

He got a few flames, but not many.

Orange tried sending out a wave of his own energy. His energy hit many things, and when he called it back, he got his energy _and_ bits of life energy of things he had hit. However, he didn't get back the energy that had hit humans.

"I got it! What now?" he asked.

"Pool the energy in front of your hand," Green suggested.

Orange concentrate, and he managed to move his energy, still melded with the other energy, to the area in front of his palm.

"Now speak a spell!" Green said.

Orange didn't know any spells, but he remembered what Green had said the other day.

" _Slekt_ ," he muttered. A massive drop of water materialized and fell to the floor, splashing everyone's feet.

"Wow, that was fast," Lyra commented. "Doesn't it usually take a year or two to do a basic magic spell?"

"Green's not the Trainer for nothing," Crystal reminded her.

"Uh, guys? I feel faint..." Orange collapsed.

"He used up too much magic energy," Green muttered. "We'll have to hope he replenishes soon."

Forty-five minutes later, dawn was approaching and Orange woke up.

"Good, you're awake," Crystal said with relief. "Dawn will arrive soon, so we don't have much time. Just focus your magic."

Silver started placing the gemstones in their proper places in the circle of runes, and Jo was dragged out of Orange's hands and into the middle of it. "Begin, and _please don't mess this up_."

Orange nodded, an uncertain half-smile on his face. "Well... Wish me luck."

"Break a leg," Lyra said, patting him on the back. "Don't lose one." She cast a meaningful glance at his left leg that no one except her and Silver understood. "Or your right arm." When Orange opened his mouth to ask what she was talking about, she stomped on his foot and muttered something about him having far to go.

Orange gulped and stepped forward, holding one hand palm-up in front of himself and using the other to hold the paper.

 _"Alk odho fjode, odho ladk sil slekt, odho ladk sil aerw, odho ladk sil jlladk, zei odhe lakhdr alsh dlakht hen jlladk, lesghi ledniri birs hen aldj lahgdmer ish odho ladnua. Ledni dhor lahgd, Xerneas!"_

He was unsure about some of the pronunciations but hoped it would suffice. Something was leeching his energy, so that meant it was working, right? Everything within the circle was vibrating, and the runes were beginning to glow. He tried to offer more of his power to whatever was taking his energy, tried to speed up the process, but it was as if the magic had hit a brick wall with a tiny hole in it- it only accepted a small amount at a time at its own pace and refused to be rushed.

The sky lightened as the sun stained it first purple, then pink, then orange. The proverbial hole in the wall seemed to expand and become more like a vacuum, greedily draining his magic reserves. He gritted his teeth. Was this supposed to happen? He was becoming weaker.

Finally, something else happened. Something shiny flared to life inside the circle, right above Jo. Orange squinted, barely making out a magnificent set of horns. Was this Xerneas? It got nearer. Nearer and nearer and nearer until it hit his palm.

He whited out.

* * *

It felt like a second, and it felt like a century. Orange woke up and found himself surrounded by a vast white expanse, barren of color except for himself, but even he was faded, almost like an echo. "...Am I dead?!"

There was a low chuckle, and he swiveled to look behind him. A mighty stag stood there, its body covered in black and blue fur while its horns were a pristine ivory color. Rainbow stones were set in them, and Orange vaguely wondered if it hurt. "Nay, thou art not dead. I merely took thee out of thy time and into a separate dimension." Orange froze. Who said that?! He looked around frantically but saw no one. Turning back, he found intelligent blue eyes staring back at him. "Look thee not so surprised. Darkrai told me thou spoke with him, and my communication with thee is based upon a similar principle."

"...Okay?" Orange said cautiously. "Are you Xerneas?"

The stag dipped its head. "That I am. Art thou the child who summoned me?"

"Um. Yeah." Orange couldn't help but continue to stare in wonder. "This isn't what happened in The Boss's flashback!" he blurted out.

Xerneas nodded again. "Indeed. In the ritual of chaos, the summoner must exert his or her own will upon the entity summoned and tame it with force. However, this is the ritual of hope, and the summoner must win the approval of the entity summoned- me. Only then shall I grant thee this power. Come hither, child, and tell me- why dost thou summon me?"

Orange gulped and complied. "Well, uh... There's this guy called The Boss, and he's kinda running rampant in the world, and he's been killing people and kidnapping people and he's trying to get even more power and with that power he's gonna be able to take this to a world level-"

"I know."

Orange gaped at Xerneas in shock. "You kn- Then why aren't you doing anything?!" he demanded. Xerneas shook its head and heaved a great sigh.

"There is always evil going on, and if we legendary pokemon always backed different champions, we would constantly be at war with each other. Furthermore, The Boss's goal is not yet to conquer the world- he plans to defeat an ancient evil with the power he will attain."

Orange's jaw dropped further. "What?! Then why's he using the power of chaos?!"

Xerneas shook its head. "His fear of Kyuukushu holds him in check- he lives in constant fear that she will somehow escape and he will not be ready. However, should he defeat her, he will be free of all inhibitions and will be able to do as he pleases, causing terror and strife wherever he roams. The power of chaos will aid him in committing heinous acts." Orange opened his mouth again, but Xerneas cut him off. "I shall ask again, child- why dost thou summon me? Speak truly thine desires, not thine reasons."

"How are they any different?" Orange protested.

Xerneas shook its head again. "Speak of what thy heart desires in this venture, not of what causes it to be so. No lie can escape me. Speak only the truth."

"Well... I guess I just wanna protect people. I always have. Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to be the kind of guy that others could depend on. When I see someone in trouble, I want to help. And now... there's a lot of people who could be in a lot of trouble if The Boss pulls off whatever he's doing. So I wanna help protect them, even if I can't fight The Boss."

Xerneas narrowed its eyes. "Thou wish to protect, yet thou summons me to limit Chaos's power _only_. Art thou unwilling to put thyself in danger and fight thine own fight?"

Orange shook his head frantically. "No! That's not it! I would rather fight, but..." His head drooped. "I'm not nearly as strong as Kaz, and I can't stomach death. I probably would mess everything up and be unable to finish The Boss in the end."

Xerneas studied Orange carefully. "And yet you summon me still. Hast thou no qualms about _assisted_ murder?"

Those words struck Orange like a tsunami. Deep down, he knew that he was helping to kill The Boss. Heck, that was the entire point of him _doing_ this! But somewhere in his mind, that thought refused to be broken down. Orange had thought that it would be fine as long as he wasn't the one to strike the killing blow. But for the first time, he truly realized that he was helping to kill someone.

Helping... to kill someone.

Helping to kill.

To kill.

Kill.

Orange gulped. He had trained to kill, of course, but that hadn't gone so well. Even the thought of being one of the guilty parties, however indirectly, in murder was enough to make his head spin. Even worse, he had done this fully intending to help kill The Boss. Could he really help to kill someone, even a person as evil as The Boss?

"If thou art unready to stain thy hands with crimson blood, thou hast no business here," Xerneas advised. "Leave."

Orange's stomach swirled and he closed his eyes. He wasn't ready, and he knew it. But he couldn't go back. His friends and family were counting on him. His country was counting on him. Heck, the entire _world_ was counting on him. Well, actually, Kaz was probably planning to just go off on her own and kill The Boss even regardless of her extremely high chances of failure if he didn't manage to summon the power, and a great number of people probably didn't even know of the threat, but still. If he wasn't ready... then he would just have to _become_ ready. Orange thought of what would make him most resolved to kill, and his conclusion was anger. Orange imagined all the worst-case scenarios, remembered everything that ever made him mad, and was ready to dive into it, let it engulf him. As he was preparing to pass the point of no return, Orange remembered something his father had said to him during his training.

"Rage isn't the same as resolve," Red had said. "Letting anger control you is the shortest and surest way of destroying everyone and everything you have ever loved."

Orange recalled those words, and then he let go of his rage. He released those angry feelings, and, rather than focusing on the part of himself that screamed, "I want to kill," he focused on the part of him that said, quietly and determinedly, "I will protect." This brought up all the happy moments in life, everyone he had shared a laugh, chuckle, or even a smile with, everything he had ever defended, and he knew that he had to protect them, no matter the cost. Orange promised then and there that he would fight, bleed, and even kill to protect those he loved. Orange opened his eyes and looked at Xerneas again.

"I'm ready," he declared solemnly.

"Then reflect upon thyself, child. I once more implore thee- why dost thou summon me?" Xerneas queried.

Orange took a deep breath. "I want to protect. I want the gem of hope so I can negate the powers of Chaos, and if Kaz can't kill The Boss, I want the power tho protect everyone directly."

Orange waited. And waited. After what seemed like an eternity, Xerneas still hadn't spoken. Hadn't he spoken from his heart? Did he have doubts of some kind? As soon as he thought the word, devilish little thoughts began invading his mind. What if, even with power, he failed to kill The Boss? What if he couldn't control the gem? What if this happened? What if that happened? Doubts ran through his mind, and in the midst of them all, Xerneas spoke again.

"Thou hast doubts." Xerneas's voice wasn't loud, but it somehow pierced through the turmoil of wavering thoughts. "Hope requires three things: a calm mind, a clean soul, and a clear heart free of doubts. Calm thy mind, cleanse thy soul, and clear thy heart. Do this and ask again, and I may grant thy request."

Orange worked hard to quell the doubts in his mind. It wasn't that he _shouldn't_ fail, for that would mean that he might fail. It wasn't that he _couldn't_ fail, for that implied a lack of choice where he had a choice. Orange had already made his choice, and he knew that, in order to protect those he cherished, he _wouldn't_ fail. He had come here to get something done, and he would do it.

"Please!" he said. "Give me the gem of hope! And if Kaz can't win, give me the power to fight! In order to protect my family, the ninja, the guards, the administration, Lustrous, Adamant, Grisseo, Chu, and everyone else in the country, grant my request!"

Xerneas mulled it over. "Hope is multiplied and held by everyone once started. I shalt give thee the gem. However, power, when coupled with responsibility, is an extraordinary burden to bear alone. Art thou _sure_ thou canst carry it by thyself?"

Orange nodded. "Yes. I can and I will."

"Dost thou not often rely on thy Pichu when in trouble? Thy power is thine to bear. Thy Pichu shalt no longer be able to aid thee in times of trouble."

"I don't know how you know that, but I won't rely on Chu anymore. The little fella's never really seemed happy with me, and sometimes I think he's only with me for the Elexecutor. Once this is all over, I've promised myself to release Chu and let him live his own life doing whatever Pichus do. I'll even let him keep the Elexecutor if he wants. But I won't rely on him anymore. If it comes to a fight between me and The Boss, I'll fight on my own. That battle will be solely my responsibility."

Xerneas smiled. "Not thine only. Look." It nodded its head to an area behind it, where a familiar Pichu's eyes were filling with tears.

"Ch-chu?" Orange said in bewilderment, taking a few steps toward his friend.

"PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Chu cried, leaping into Orange's arms.

"CHUUUUU!" Orange sobbed, hugging his friend tightly.

Xerneas continued to smile as the pair hugged and cried together. After they stopped hugging an crying, Orange wiped his eyes and walked toward Xerneas.

"I'm ready," he said.

"Very well. I shalt grant thee my power, young one. But be warned- thou may only wield my power until The Boss is killed and the Chaos power along with him. After that, my own power shall leave the gem, destroying it and the instrument it is channeled into in the process. Luck be with you, child."

And it lowered its head, careful of stabbing Orange by accident with its horns as it touched its forehead to his.

And suddenly, the barren space wasn't so barren after all. Vivid colors sprang to life, the green of grass and leaves, the rich brown of bark, the deep black of soil, and the varied hues of flower petals, and Orange wondered why he hadn't been able to see them before. He himself was no longer faded and even the dull, worn color of his clothes was brighter than it had been even when they were new. He felt so at peace, so happy, it was almost scary.

It felt like a second, and it felt like a century. Orange exited the dimension.

* * *

"Yow!" Lapis yelped as he fell onto his butt. Normally a ninja wasn't affected by such things, but he had been caught unaware.

"Oof!" Grisseo grunted next to him.

"Oh, yeah, humans can't float," Darkrai realized.

Lapis quickly took stock of his surroundings. All around him, he saw... sand, sand, and more sand. Not to mention it was sweltering hot. Stupid black outfit.

"Hey, where are we?" Grisseo asked, also realizing that there was sand all around them.

Darkrai looked around. "We appear to have landed somewhere in the Satara Desert."

"Satara Desert? Where's that?" asked Grisseo.

"It's da biggest desert in da world!" Lapis exclaimed. "Haven't ya heard of it?"

"Nope!" Grisseo replied proudly.

Lapis facepalmed.

"It's in the country Arkifross," Darkrai informed them. "You know, across the Syfric Ocean."

"Ya know," Lapis added, "Below Hoenn."

"Ah, I remember now!" Grisseo exclaimed. "So this is where the dreamer is?"

"Nope," Darkrai replied promptly. "Every dream world is as big as the real world, because everyone is born with an innate knowledge of the planet they live on. Of course, most dreams are nearly identical to real life except in the vicinity of the dreamer. So let's go search!"

"HOLD IT, HOLD IT, HOLD IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTT!" Lapis screamed.

"Is something wrong?" Darkrai asked.

"YES! How're we s'posed ta find ONE LOUSY PERSON when we've got da WHOLE WORLD ta search?!" Lapis demanded.

"Flying around at super speed, obviously," Darkrai replied.

"HUMANS CAN'T FLY!" Lapis yelled.

Grisseo, meanwhile, was repeatedly jumping off the top of a sand dune in a desperate attempt to fly.

Darkrai thought about it. "Well, there's really nothing I can do about that..."

"Hey guys! I got it to work!" Grisseo yelled from high in the air. "I can fly!"

Lapis gaped. "...?"

Darkrai snapped its fingers. "Oh, right! Since this is a human's dream, and humans have always wanted to fly, flying is possible in everyone's dream!"

"Woo hoo!" Lapis shouted, running up a sand dune and jumping off. "HAHAHAHA! FLIGHT!"

"Right, let's get going!" Darkrai said, sweeping an arm around the wide expanse of sand. "It should take about 30 minutes to circle the world. You two go one way, and I'll go the other. Let's move!"

"Yes, sir!" Grisseo exclaimed, saluting. "Let's go, Lapis!"

So they branched off to search for the dreamer.

"Say, Lapis?" Grisseo began as they flew over the massive expanse of desert.

"What?" Lapis replied.

"D'you think that when Darkrai said that this world is identical to the real one in almost every way, do you think that includes wild Pokemon?"

"Maybe. Why- Oh, no."

Krookodile used Smack Down!

* * *

Darkrai whizzed around the world, looking for any signs of life. Since life was only found when dreamers dreamt about it, it looked for a giant moving fox. Suddenly, spears of light fell around it, forming a cage. Darkrai looked around, but could see no fox. It wasn't near the dreamer.

"What is this?" it wondered aloud. The only beings capable of dream hopping should be Darkrai and anyone they let in. Darkrai weren't allowed to interfere with one another's work, so who was it?

"Wondering who trapped you?" a voice asked amiably.

"Um, yes, please," Darkrai replied politely.

"Well, I'll show you! It's me!"

A man cloaked in a muddy black cloak smiled and waved. "Hi! I'm The Boss!"

"That's nice to know. Mind letting me go now?" Darkrai asked. It had already tried its instant dream escape, but for some odd reason, that failed.

"Oh, of course not! If I let you go, you might find the dreamer!" The Boss replied.

"Why don't you want me to find the dreamer?" Darkrai asked. He realized that The Boss must have gotten the Staff of Shadows, a relic imbued with the power of Darkrai, and now had a limited power to travel dreams. But to be able to trap a dream entity was astonishing. It was almost like this was a dream he had taken control of.

"Well, the dreamer isn't technically asleep. He's been locked into the deep recesses of his mind, and I don't want to have you go wake him up."

Ah. Darkrai had heard about this. "Benjen?" it guessed.

"Correct! Unfortunately, I've had to trap you and your little friends so that you can't go wake him up."

Darkrai was puzzled. What did The Boss have to gain by trapping a Legendary and two kids in a dream? They would eventually get out, even if they had to wait for Benjen to die.

"Please just sit still here," The Boss said as he walked up to the cage. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he continued, "until the day Benjen no longer exists."

 **(A/N: MPPPPH! MPPPPH! *thrashes***

 **(Lyra: Cut it out, prisoner! And why'd Orange get such a big part?!**

 **(Bob the cameraman: Ms. Gin? We're rolling...**

 **(Lyra: Ugh. Everyone, please forget you ever saw that. *kicks Petal under a table* Thank you for reading, and please review.**

 **(Bob the cameraman: Ms. Gin, don't you think this unserious ending detracts from the serious note the chapter ended on?**

 **(Lyra: Bob?**

 **(Bob the cameraman: Yes?**

 **(Lyra: Shut up.)**


	26. Look, There's an Omake!

**(A/N: I am** _ **infinitely**_ **sorry that this chapter is so late. I apologize. I had my part completed a while ago, but then Copper wanted to write as well (he** _ **did**_ **say he quit a couple chapters back, and I'm glad he actually didn't, but did he have to take so darn long with this part?), and he took... yeah, over three weeks. And then I had band camp, so the upload is late, and you shouldn't expect quick updates from now on. I can feel myself slowing down as well... Also, just to let you people know, I have no idea how banjos are played. I don't even know how to play the guitar outside of theory. Clarinetist, folks, not a string instrument player.**

 **(Lyra: And yet you gave Orange a banjo.**

 **(Petal: ...It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. It was either that or an accordion, and a banjo can be used like a club in battle even though it's not advisable to use a musical instrument as a combat weapon.**

 **(Lyra: *sigh* Unbelievable.**

 **(Bob the cameraman: Uh, can we get a move on? The batteries on this thing are low. *taps camera***

 **(Petal: Yeah, yeah. Nothing be owned here, folks, particularly not the Dying Will Flame that isn't actually used, only referenced... Or the multiple other references. Yes, the reference queen is** _ **back**_ **, folks.)**

Lyra was tapping her foot into the ground.

Natalie had her pilot shades pulled down over her eyes and was watching the proceedings with uncharacteristic stoicness.

Mithril was running in crazed circles around Lyra and Natalie. What was going on? First the shiny thing appeared, then Orange's eyes went glassy, then they started glowing, and then sometime later, Chu's eyes did the same. Repeat, what was going on?!

"Calm down," snapped a very irate Lyra, spitting out some of the girl's hair that had flown into her face. The redhead was beginning to wear a crater into the moist morning soil. "Freaking out isn't going to help at all."

Her words had virtually no effect on the other girl. If anything, Mithril only sped up, and she didn't look like she would run out of energy any time soon. Her hair smacked into Lyra's face again.

"Natalie, you say something to her, too!" the ninja yelled in frustration, turning to the older girl. When she got no response, she frowned and snapped her fingers in front of Natalie's face. "Wait, don't tell me..." she muttered, reaching up and yanking off the sunglasses.

Her suspicions were confirmed. Natalie had fallen asleep standing up. While Mithril had a surplus of energy, Natalie was evidently not a morning person and had fallen asleep as soon as the chance arose, probably the moment when she pulled down her shades. Lyra kicked her leg experimentally and found that her knees were locked like a horse pokemon's. Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if this was the way the woman normally slept- in her brief time at The Boss's hideout, Lyra had learned that Natalie was in charge of caring for the steeds, and from her one visit to the stables, she knew the blonde did the job well.

But back to the matter at hand, Mithril's frenzied sprint was still happening, and Lyra could swear that the grass and ground itself would remain forever marked, much like Mithril would be if she couldn't keep her hair from Lyra's face. Lyra felt a growl building in the back of her throat, and she was about to lash out when-

 _SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~_

Everyone present would later swear that they heard a chorus of angels belting out a sound of miracles as Orange snapped out of the trance he'd been in. The glowing of the magic circle died down, and the gemstones were no different than the average round stone. Orange himself had a determined yet peaceful look on his face, almost as if he was privy to important secrets of the world- just not the ones that would cause people to lose their minds. He blinked once, twice, realized where he was, and turned around with a grin to match the sun coming up over the horizon. "I did it!" he cheered victoriously, raising a fist. Chu leaped up from the grass and met it with his own.

"Bwuh-!" Natalie's eyes snapped open at the exclamation, and she looked around, her braid whipping Lyra in the face. "Whaddappened?!"

"HE DID IT!" Mithril screamed at the top of her lungs. With another unbelievable burst of energy, she raced towards Orange. Natalie moved to follow suit, but she fell over- her knees hadn't yet unlocked. Lyra shot her a smug glare- served her right- and went to join the group of people crowding around the bard at a more sedate pace. Natalie, unknowing of what she'd done to deserve the glare, stared in bewilderment before shaking her head and running forward with an unsteady, staggering gait.

"Well done," Crystal said with relief, patting Orange on the shoulder. She looked like she was about to faint, and Silver and Green moved behind her as support in case the event came to pass. Both men gave the boy approving looks when they saw his banjo.

"I'm proud of ya, kiddo," Red chuckled, hooking one arm around his son's neck and using the other to deliver a light, playful punch to the youth's shoulder.

Orange just grinned, too happy and excited to speak after his initial outburst. Jo was in better condition that it'd been in in years, its wood clear of the stains and dents that had littered it before and the tightened strings catching the light of the morning sun. Set in the back of the head was a shining white gem, various colors floating around it, expanding and dilating blobs of a pastel rainbow. Despite the evident upgrade, Orange still found a comfortable grip at the neck of the instrument where his left hand had held it countless times, and he could feel the grooves of the letters of his name carved into the back of the peghead.

"My sacrifice was not in vain!" Mithril chirped, delivering a hard punch to his arm. Lyra rolled her eyes.

"You had that gem for what, a day? Two days?"

"It was still too awesome to give up easily!"

"No, more importantly, what're we going to say to Queen Lorelei now that her magic gauntlet isn't magic anymore?" Natalie wondered. Lyra froze, and Crystal really did faint. Luckily, neither her adviser nor her friend had moved from his position and caught her before she fell.

Orange flapped his father and the rest of the small crowd away and turned to the lone figure standing detached from the circle and watching from a distance in which she was in no danger of getting her eardrums busted. "I'm ready," he said determinedly.

Kaz's smile had an ominous note in it, and her eyes flashed with equal, if not more, determination as she nodded curtly in response. "Good."

"It's good to know that you two are prepared, but we still need to find The Boss's location," Green interjected. He left Silver to take care of the still passed out queen and pulled a bowl from one of his tacky, voluminous sleeves. " _Slekt_." It filled with water, and he glanced at Orange. "I'm going to start scrying. In the meantime, I want _you_ to play your banjo and with the intent of finding The Boss. Just... focus. Just like training for a sword technique, visualization is half of achieving a spell." He held a hand over the bowl and murmured a few words. Hazy static appeared, and Orange took that as his cue. He positioned the fingers of his left hand on the strings of the neck and smiled in anticipation, eager to hear the no doubt beautiful sound that would come from his instrument. Everyone except Kaz and the unconscious Crystal leaned forward a bit, even Lyra. Orange lifted his right hand and began plucking the strings.

The reactions to his 'music' were mixed. From Green's gritted teeth to Red's wince to Lyra's horrified scream to Mithril keeling over, Orange's little concert was not received well.

(Far away, Adamant and Eleanor suddenly had the feeling that leaving the castle and returning home had been the right decision.)

However, Orange was too absorbed in the happy feeling of picking up his instrument again after so much time abstaining from playing it to notice. He burst into off-key singing to accompany the deranged keening Jo was releasing, some nonsensical lyrics about chasing a Butterfree. Chu rolled his eyes and took out the Elexecutor and perform his usual duty- damage control. Their audience was grateful to hear the somewhat musical chimes of the triangle over the the terrible screeching Orange had the gall to call music.

Green concentrated on his mini scrying pool. The vibrations of the music were creating ripples across the water, but it was better than the static he'd had to contend with before. After a quick spell to shield the pool from the vibrations, he saw the image clear as day.

Mt. Chimney.

Sitting by the volcano was The Boss, a violin in hand and a cast-off sword and staff off somewhere to the side, both of which were missing the gems usually adorning them. Instead, the precious stones were being held by a man with black hair. Two more people, a man with two broadswords and a woman with a scythe, were also standing by, but Green didn't pay them much mind.

"Figures," he muttered before raising his voice. "The Boss is on Mt. Chimney!"

Only the people standing closest to him and farthest from Orange heard him. Natalie, being late because of her slow start, jogged over to peek at the scrying pool. Kaz remained where she was but gave a nod to affirm that she heard. Orange continued to massacre whatever tune he was attempting to play and had no idea what was going on. Green cast a projection spell and yelled again, "The Boss is on Mt. Chimney!" Orange finally stopped playing, and everyone else swiveled to look at Green with grateful eyes and ears. "From what I can tell, he has three subordinates with him," he continued. "Ms. Kaahn's brother, a swordsman, and a scythe-wielder." His eyes narrowed. "Everyone who is going, raise your hands. We'll ready your transportation accordingly. If all goes well, you should arrive at the mountain in a few days."

"And if we don't?" Kaz asked, raising an eyebrow. Green's grimace was her answer. They didn't have much more time left before the fifty year cooldown period was over.

"How do you even know when he can do the ritual thing again?" Mithril interrupted, picking herself up from the ground. She made sure to deliver a kick to Orange's shin as punishment for torturing her ears. Lyra looked on approvingly.

"Simple," Green answered. "Giant explosions of purple light and Yveltal's shadow that can be seen from the other side of the kingdom tend to be flashy, noticeable, and recorded." Which also probably meant that The Boss knew about their own ritual, but they could still hope. They did, after all, have Hope. "So? Who's going?"

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Orange screamed for the hundred and twenty first time in the past ten hours, clutching Jo tightly with one hand to ensure that the banjo didn't fly out of his grip. His other hand was ensnared in the reins with his arm wrapped in a death grip around the Zebstrika he was riding. His legs were clamped around its middle as it galloped full throttle, sped up by the spell Green had cast before they left. Oh, why couldn't they have used Jo's power to teleport? Ah, right- there was too high a risk that he, being an amateur at magic, wouldn't be able to handle such a delicate task and would end up teleporting their bodies without their guts and insides. But still, Orange didn't ride- he walked or boarded a wagon. His experience with equine pokemon was negligible, and although he had learned how to ride them when he was a child, he still shied away- partially because of a traumatizing incident involving a rearing Ponyta and almost getting stomped on, and partially because he just wasn't familiar with them. His childhood friend Turquoise had always told him that his lack of riding skills would someday come back to bite him, but had he listened to her? Nope. And now he was paying for it. He wished that he could retreat into a pokeball like Chu had (the little electric-type normally despised the confines of the ball and almost always stayed out of it, but today was an exception), but alas. He was tired and was going numb, but they weren't stopping anytime soon.

Natalie, by contrast, was having the time of her life. She let out a throaty whoop as Greg carried her faster than he ever had before and threw one arm out as an offering for the wind to toy with while keeping the other firmly planted on her hat to protect Tiki who was taking refuge within it. Her shades protected her eyes from the blasted streaming that Orange was going through, and she was in her element. Greg whinnied, but it was more like a Ponyta version of a roar, and sped up. The air currents and landscape sped past them even more quickly, and they felt free, so free, and fast, and light, and happy-

Until they caught sight of the harsh, steely glare of their group's eldest member and unofficial leader, because screw putting on a facade of a saccharine disposition, there was a deadline to meet, and _no one_ messed around with deadlines, particularly deadlines as serious as this. Kaz squinted against the wind, clearly wanting to go faster despite the breakneck speed she was already pushing her Zebstrika to, and Natalie sobered immediately. That's right, this wasn't all fun and games. They weren't here to have fun riding, they were here to get to the port, board a ship, and set sail for the Hoenn region of the kingdom- and Mt. Chimney. Kaz had quieted and dropped her false smile, instead opting for a stern but neutral expression that Natalie decided was determination personified. The white-haired woman had the most personal reason to kill The Boss, after all; her brother had been kidnapped, and she wanted to get him back. It was as simple as that.

But was it? After she rescued him, what then? From what Natalie had gleaned from her conversations with Lyra and the other members of the ninja squad, Kaz was dedicated to the sole purpose of finding and taking back Benjen, even going so far as to shackle herself to the ninja force to use its vast influence and information network. There was no other purpose pushing her. So what would happen when she achieved her objective? Would she have no more dreams to fulfill? Obsession was unhealthy- it dragged you in and didn't let up until you were completely enthralled. Natalie knew that from one of Kara's weekly lectures. She sincerely hoped that Kaz had planned for after happily ever after, or the world would have one very dangerous, very bored individual on its hands. Actually, scratch that, _two_ if 700 got his emotions and memories back. If that ever happened, Natalie planned to be very far away, perhaps with a peaceful life in Qi'Dreh as a horse breeder- the animals were much less dangerous than the electricity-spewing, fire-spitting equine pokemon she usually handled.

"NAT!" Mithril shouted over the howl of the air currents. She had produced a pair of goggles from out of nowhere after learning of how fast the pokemon would be going, though Natalie had her suspicions that her friend had mastered the use of the hammerspace bag she had bought during one mission in the Kalos region, a rather large star-shaped island in the west of the kingdom's territory.

"WHAT!" Natalie yelled back, slowing Greg just enough to allow Mithril and her mount to keep pace. The Ponyta let out an irritated, competitive snort, but Natalie paid the action no mind- it was in his nature, after all.

"YOU SAW THE THING IN THE SCRYING BOWL, RIGHT?! HOW WAS LEON?!"

Ah, so that's what this was about. Mithril was concerned about their friend, especially after she had learned who Aria was. They had been puzzling over it in the infirmary when Kara went to visit Mithril, a basket of fruit on one arm and a long tirade of a reprimand at the tip of her tongue. Being that she was one of the smartest people they knew, they asked her about it, and she clucked her tongue and guessed that it might have been a friend or a member of his family. She left the basket and departed, returning an hour later with a book listing the casualties of the border raid to Leon's hometown. Twenty minutes after that, Natalie struck gold and held the page in Mithril's line of sight so she could see- Aria Notus, age estimated six or seven by people from Opelucid City who had seen her. The corpses had been burned by the raiders (presumably soldiers from the neighboring kingdom of Fulder, though Konton wasn't ready to go into full-on war, and the peace treaty between them was fragile enough already), but there had been no survivors and the entire village was presumed dead. This was, of course, false- after all, Leon had survived. But more to the point, Kara had guessed that Leon had seen Aria where Mithril stood. She also surmised that when Mithril first joined The Organization five years previous, a mere child of ten years, he had taken it upon himself to look out for her, perhaps to atone for failing to protect his sister as was likely the case. Kara had berated herself for not realizing sooner, considering he would always bring back souvenirs for Mithril from his missions, usually grapes or something related to them. Natalie had once conjectured that he liked grapes, but giving it some thought, perhaps it had been his dead sister who had liked them.

"HE WASN'T LOOKING SO GOOD!" Natalie shouted. "REALLY SHAKEN, YA KNOW?"

"THAT PROBABLY MEANS HE'LL BE WEAKER THAN USUAL," Mithril decided, a tentative grin building on her features. "WE SHOULD TAKE THE CHANCE AND CAPTURE HIM! THEN WE TALK THINGS OUT WITH HIM!"

"TALK THINGS OUT WITH WHO?!" Orange yelped as his ride caught up to them. Natalie and Mithril shared a look before turning to him and answering in perfect unison.

"NO ONE!"

"WE'RE APPROACHING AZALEA TOWN!" Kaz yelled, referring to the southernmost in-land town of the Johto region. Just beyond it was the bustling port city of Hyacinth where their boat should be prepared. They would stay the night in an inn before traversing the stretch of sea to the Hoenn region where they would then proceed to Mt. Chimney.

Unfortunately, life never goes as planned.

They passed through Azalea without much incident (they almost got held up by a suspicious-looking group trying to sell Slowpoke tails, but Kaz quickly took care of that- her glare was absolutely _terrifying_ , and her traveling companions would later swear that they had seen dark horns growing from her head, something Green would categorize as a fear-induced hallucination), but when they reached Hyacinth, it was dead silent, almost like a ghost town. This wasn't right; it wasn't right at all. Port cities were supposed to be bustling hubs of trade, fish, and activity, filled with the jabber of a hundred different dialects of ten different languages. There should have been housewives haggling with vendors as if they were born doing it, fishermen hauling in their catches, lost tourists wandering around and speaking in broken Kontonian, children pickpocketing and pranking, shady folks selling their dubious wares.

None of that was going on. The housewives were in their homes, peering through slitted windows with dark glares. The vendors had left their stalls. The fishermen's boats were smashed. The tourists were nowhere to be seen. The children were not laughing. The conmen had deserted.

When the traveling party arrived, the silence picked up into quiet muttering, distrustful and distasteful. Kaz was instantly on guard, her hands folding themselves into their sleeves after she slid off the Zebstrika she had been riding and fingering the knives hidden in them. Following her cue, Natalie, Orange, and Mithril's hands strayed to their swords, alertly scanning their surroundings.

"There's no use doing that," a voice called, lilting and dark at the same time. Four heads and eight eyes turned to the source. Seven hands gripped weapons firmly. A figure stepped out of the shadow of a bell tower, silver hair giving a ghostly sheen.

Genevieve's eyes narrowed as she glared at the group. "Hello, Mithril," she spat. "I assume you know why I'm here?"

"To beg me for forgiveness and permission to join my heroic empire?" Mithril guessed. Orange facevaulted. Natalie, given that she was the girl's best friend, was used to the slightly skewed reality Mithril lived in. Kaz didn't let any of this affect her, instead focusing her sights on the enemy that needed to be eradicated.

"Who is this and what is she doing here," the woman hissed, eyeing the opponent with disdain and aggression because she was busy and simply had _no time_ to deal with this.

Genevieve allowed herself a self-assured smirk. "I'm the one who's going to kill you," she announced.

"Big words!" Mithril fired back. "I fought you myself, and your power doesn't even match up to any of these guys! Except Orange, but he's squeamish!" The indignant sputter of protest that came from the only male member of the party ended in a resigned sigh. He couldn't deny what she said, not that she'd listen to him anyway. "Besides, we're kind of busy right now, so we're just gonna go on ahead!" Their original plan was in shambles, after all. They couldn't stay in one place, and besides, it was highly unlikely that any inn would take them considering their current predicament.

"Oh, I don't think so," Genevieve said idly. "I have plenty of time to kill you, and then them. Disarming bombs isn't the quickest of procedures, and it's also a rather delicate one. And you can't just slice them off or you'll be opening nasty holes in your little boat."

Kaz froze, then cursed under her breath. Of course there would be trap laid here. What was their help _doing_? Either dead or hiding, considering the rest of the town. "Do any of you know how to disarm a bomb?" she hissed to her companions. Mithril winced, Natalie grimaced, and Orange just looked confused. Right. Two of them were usually the ones _setting_ the bombs, and the last was a total amateur. She should have taken Lyra along, and she half-wondered why she hadn't done so in the first place. Heck, even Nicholas and Eleanor would have been of more help here. But there was no helping it; she would simply have to deal with situation using the tools- people- whatever- on hand. "Alright. Mithril, she's targeting you, so keep her occupied. Natalie, you stay with her as back-up. Orange, you're my shield." At the boy's incredulous look, she added, "Your father told me you want to protect. Well, it's time to get started!" Without another word nor a glance backwards to see if they were following her orders- her authority and the urgency of the situation were a combination that assured her that they were- she raced off towards the port itself, an unassuming little boat that was also the only one not yet destroyed as her destination. Orange hurried after her, glancing nervously at Genevieve who carelessly tossed her head and allowed him to escape.

"You're fast!" Orange huffed when he caught up to Kaz. The woman was bent over the boat and releasing a steady stream of foul curses that he hadn't even heard before. She paused with the expletives long enough to respond.

"Yes, I have to be. We have a problem," she muttered. "I never learned to perform magic and I also don't have the capacity, but I was trained to sense it. These bombs are a mix of technology and magic." Orange peered over her shoulder and saw clusters of black devices littering the wooden vessel. A countdown was displayed across it clear as day.

"...But I have Jo?" he suggested, hoping the power it granted him would help. Xerneas had granted him the power to help beat The Boss, and this should technically count- they couldn't fight him if they were stuck in Johto because their transportation blew up.

Kaz really didn't want him to use the ear-murdering banjo, but she didn't really have any other choice. She nodded her permission. "I need you to control it _exactly_ as I tell you to," she warned. "This is an extremely delicate process, and if we make so much as one wrong move, it will explode before its timer runs out." And then, just to give him some incentive: "If we can't get to The Boss, you're useless, and therefore it doesn't matter if you die a painful, torturous death of suspicious knife wounds. I would _hate_ for such a thing to happen, wouldn't you?"

* * *

"What's your game, Genevieve?!" Mithril demanded, drawing her twin blades.

"Game? I have no idea what you mean," the woman scoffed, readying her scythe. Then her face split into a grin, a slightly deranged one that would have lesser people whimpering in fear (though Kaz would simply scoff at the pale imitation of true insanity). "Oh wait, I do! This _is_ a game, after all. A race. I have a device that will immediately shut down the bombs, and your little friends are going to have quite a spot of trouble disarming them if they can do it at all. If you get it, you win. But, well... You won't." Mithril got tired of waiting (and half wondered why she bothered to do so in the first place before remembering that monologues generally aren't supposed to be interrupted, but whatever, this was Genevieve, and she had beaten Genevieve once before already) and charged, Lady Deadly set to stab and Sir Sharp ready to slice. Genevieve simply made use of her longer legs and backpedaled, continuing her speech. "You see, this is a grudge match. I admit what you did before was impressive, but that was with the air gem which you don't have anymore. In other words..." Her back hit a wall. Mithril smirked triumphantly and dove Lady Deadly in for the kill.

"You're useless."

Genevieve was no longer faced with the tower to her right- Sir Sharp didn't get to taste action because she leaped away from him and his compatriot. She laughed gleefully at the enraged expression on Mithril's face which made the girl look rather like a Primeape.

"Say that again, I dare you!" the blancette roared, charging once more with reckless abandon. "Also, I WILL DEFEAT THE LONG-HAIR WITH MY DYING WILL!" Genevieve just laughed once again, whirling her scythe in front of her like a baton.

"I'll say it as many times as I need to in order to get it through to you, you thick-headed little Mankey," she taunted, finally stopping the twirling and gripping it firmly with both hands. With a sweeping motion, she swung it in a horizontal arc, and Mithril ducked only to be met with a very sharp heel that sent her flying backwards. "Reminds you of our last battle, doesn't it?" Mithril didn't reply, merely gasped and coughed where she lay after having the wind knocked out of her. "I said, _doesn't it_?!" Genevieve strode over and viciously kicked her in the stomach. Natalie screamed her friend's name and rushed over to help, refusing to be a bystander any longer, but she was stopped in her tracks when a thin, fragile-looking arm raised itself shakily.

"No," Mithril wheezed, swaying as she struggled to stand. Genevieve looked on with a quirked eyebrow. "You heard the crazy lady, Nat. This is a grudge match. It's between _me_ and _her_ , and you can't interrupt. Besides..." She leaned heavily on her swords, bracing them to the ground. Then she looked up, glaring with jarring intensity. "I can't be the leader of a heroic empire if I rely on my minions to help me win a match of pride." She paused, allowing the statement to sink in. "Also, insta-grow water turTLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!" She screeched the last syllable as she bent backwards, almost as if she was limbo-ing under the scythe strike. Genevieve had gotten tired of waiting as well.

"Nice try," the woman sneered. "Let me tell you a little something. Qi'Dreh is a land of magic where names have power. My name, Genevieve- it's a butchered version of my actual name. Genehfi means red in my language- red as my scythe, red as a Yul berry, red as human blood." Her eyes glittered. "I was born to be an assassin. One slice from my scythe and a deadly poison will enter your system, one that as of yet has no antidote. I'm going to enjoy killing you."

"Ha!" Mithril snorted. "So in other words, you're so weak that you have to rely on poison to defeat people!" Unfortunately, her body disagreed with her words as it backed up several paces. Her stance became more wary, more defensive. If Genevieve- Genehfi- come to think of it, what _should_ she call her?- eh, Sparkers stayed Sparkers, so Genevieve would stay Genevieve- was telling the truth, then being nicked by the blade would have... _unfortunate_ repercussions. And Mithril hated repercussions. Paying for people's medical bills after murdering their eyes with her _artistic_ drawings? Ew. Dealing with people she ticked off at taverns? Leon made a lovely, solid shield, he really did. Shelling out her meager savings to repair a wall she had destroyed? Pah! Honestly, it was a wonder she hadn't gone bankrupt yet- The Boss had been a miser with her salary. But more to the point, getting a deadly poison in her bloodstream? _Ugh_. No thank you. She'd have to be careful; she didn't have her artificial Bastiodon face armor to protect her at the moment.

Genevieve smirked, knowing she'd gotten the younger girl exactly where she wanted her- on the defensive. She could take her time now. She walked forward with a slow, deliberate pace, swinging her scythe suddenly and enjoying the sight of Mithril flinching away. How fun. She walked a little faster, and Mithril skittered away, swords crossed defensively in front of her.

The game of cat and mouse could only entertain Genevieve for so long. The woman wanted to see her opponent bleed, and she wanted to see it now. "Ready or not, here I come!" she crowed, grinning again and hurtling forward. Mithril squeaked and ducked, Crystal Destroyer burying itself in the wall above her (whoever was living inside the building screamed) and taking a good-sized length of her hair with it. Her eyes narrowed and her face scrunched up in a frown. Oh, it was _on_ now.

"Double Illusion Sword! Eight Flower Mantis!" she howled, springing forward. Genevieve was caught off guard by the cry and backtracked, expecting some sort of special move and losing her grip on her scythe. She hadn't the time to yank it out of the wall if she wanted to dodge the attack.

Instead, Mithril smiled gleefully and struck her with her twin blades making an X-shaped cut. She had drawn first blood, even if it was shallow. Genevieve cursed her own foolishness- there was no way her enemy was that powerful, and she was an idiot for believing the bluff. She continued to back up, drawing the girl away from her weapon. She even threw in a taunt. "What was it you were saying about being weak?" she drawled. " _I_ might use poison, but _you_ have to rely on bluffs. How pathetic." That got a rise out of her immature opponent, and Mithril let out a frustrated screech before throwing herself into another attack, her swords held in front of her like lances as she charged. Genevieve expected the attack this time and skirted around it, putting on a burst of speed and reaching her discarded scythe in record time before returning to the fight, putting up the weapon just in time to block an overhead strike. She swung it around, and Mithril leaned backwards again to dodge, kicking out with a booted foot. Unfortunately, the blow didn't have nearly as much power as Genevieve's high heels would have, and it also sent the girl herself off-balance, causing her to fall flat on her back. Rats. This wasn't good. The though proved true when Genevieve stomped on her stomach, setting off another round of pained coughing and spluttering.

"I told you. You're weak," the woman sneered, prodding Mithril's neck with the blunt side of her weapon. If she just flipped the scythe, made one little cut...

But Mithril had other plans. She wasn't about to become a lump of poisoned meat, nope! She was going to _win_ , gosh darn it, and no stupid psycho ex-co-worker was going to stop her. She may not have had the air gem any longer, but she would win with the power of _YOUTH_! She lashed out with every bit of sprightly energy she possessed, kicking Genevieve's leg off of her stomach and squirming away while the woman hissed in pain, grateful that the poisoned blade of the scythe hadn't yet been positioned to cut. She could do this. She could turn the tide. She could win.

"Fine. You asked for it," Genevieve snarled, raising Crystal Destroyer once more. She sped towards Mithril, focused on her target. The girl was suddenly acutely aware of how much longer Genevieve's legs were than hers and how much faster the woman was as a result. Taking the logical decision, the girl ran, determined to play a deadly game of hide-and-seek for as long as possible- or at least until Kaz finished disarming the bombs. Ninja were mysterious folk, so the older blancette was already doing so... right? Mithril hoped with all her might that that was the case. Not only was Genevieve taller than Mithril with longer legs and longer arms, her scythe extended her longer reach in its entire six-foot glory. Mithril's one-and-a-half foot long swords stood no chance in comparison. What she needed to do was get in closer, too close for the scythe to be safe to use, but even then Genevieve had the upper hand. Curse those high heels, and curse Genevieve triple for being able to run and fight in them!

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. "Peek-a-boo!" Genevieve crowed, blocking out the light as she crouched in front of Mithril's latest hiding spot, a stack of crates that created a hollow for nets to be stored. But the girl hadn't chosen the place for its security; she could still knock the crates backwards and dive into the water. She'd be a little waterlogged, sure, and her swords would rust if she didn't take care of them, but that was a small price to pay for victory. And so she scrambled back, throwing her weight against the crates behind her, only to find that she couldn't. She apparently had forgotten to factor in the weight of what they carried.

Well fooey.

Genevieve smirked and dragged her scythe in a light cut against Mithril's neck, and the girl froze. Already she was beginning to feel the numbing effects of the poison spreading throughout her body. Soon, she knew, she would die. Wow. What a short life. She had accomplished much, of course, but her heroic empire had just gotten started. It was a pity she wouldn't live to see her efforts come to fruition. Natalie would have to take control and carry on her dream for her. But really, what a sad way to die. She had always dreamed that she would go down fighting with her army at her back and an overwhelming number of enemies at her front, not from _poison_. Her vision began to swim, and Genevieve's cackles quieted before getting louder again, repeating the process over and over as Mithril's hearing faded in and out. She couldn't breathe; something was blocking her windpipe, the Capulet-Montague rivalry standing between her lungs' Juliet and oxygen's Romeo. Black ate at the edges of her sight, and she wondered if the last thing she was going to see in the world of the living was Genevieve's sneer.

And then suddenly, the woman was dragged backwards, and the discordant twanging of a banjo in the hands of an untalented musician jarred Mithril into a few more moments of consciousness. For the love of all that was good and holy, what was that?! Was it her welcome into the afterlife?! Was she cursed to listen to it until she paid for her sins during life?! But then something warm seemed to take up residence in her heart, seeming to cleanse the toxin that had wormed its way into her bloodstream, and it expanded, pushing something up her esophagus until she coughed, spitting out a dark red blob that she assumed was the poison. She drew a deep, deep breath of air- she had missed it so while they were parted- and her vision cleared. Unfortunately, her hearing did, too, so she punched the source and made it stop playing.

"Hey! I was helping you!" Orange complained with an offended look on his face. Mithril snorted. Helping her recover from the poison? Yes, as much as she hated to admit it. Helping her ears? Nope. Fading hearing was better than the ear murder she would have been put through.

"Did Kaz finish disarming the bombs?" Mithril asked, changing the subject. A bit of a stupid question, really, because the spartan ninja wouldn't have come to her rescue otherwise. But no one ever said she was smart, and none had said it of Orange neither, so the boy nodded in answer.

"Yep," he reported cheerfully. "There was a scary moment when I pushed too much with the magic, but she finished disarming it before it could explode." Mithril whistled. That was a worthy skill from someone who would someday be a key member of her heroic empire.

Kaz herself was standing atop a hogtied Genevieve, inspecting her captive's scythe with avid interest. "There's _Yul berry poison_ on the blade," she murmured. Mithril had a strong suspicion that she would be seeing the scythe again, next time in the dangerous woman's hands.

"Wow, Kaz. You've got her hands totally tied," Natalie noted, running over. No one knew whether she was speaking literally or figuratively given that both would be accurate, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that Genevieve had been defeated (Mithril later defended her own strength by saying that Kaz took the woman by surprise and that Mithril had been toying with her the whole time) and the bombs were down. They could continue on the next leg of their journey without incident- but it _would_ be a good idea to get their rest before leaving.

(But Kaz was adamant in assigning a watch schedule of the boat. No one dared to go against her, and their alertness during their turns was only partially out of real defense against anyone sent by The Boss- most of it was fear of Kaz. Nothing new there.)

* * *

Wind rushed past Grisseo's face as he plummeted toward the ground. The sands below looked so inviting. He wondered briefly what would happen if he fell all the way down. Would the sand cushion him? Grisseo's consciousness faded as he was mesmerized by the winding patterns of the sand.

Lapis heard a _thunk!_ sound behind him, almost like something had been hit. He looked back and saw that Grisseo was falling down!

"Yikes!" he exclaimed before diving down to catch him.

As Lapis dove down, he noticed the enthralling patterns in the sand. They were moving, almost like they were alive, and... they looked vaguely familiar... but his eyelids were growing heavy, and before he could ponder upon it more, he fell unconscious.

* * *

"PLEH! PEH! FPEH!" Lapis gasped, spitting out sand. "PEH! Disgusting sand! PLEH!"

He felt a slight tugging at his shoe, and immediately kicked out.

"AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaah..." Grisseo was sent flying from Lapis's swift kick.

"Oops," Lapis said, running off to where he had kicked Grisseo.

"Oi!" he said when he reached where Grisseo had fallen. "Are ya all right?"

His answer? Sand spit into his face.

"PFEH! PLEH!" Grisseo gasped. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"WHADDAYA MEAN, 'WHAT WAZZAT FOR?!' YA SURPRISED ME!" Lapis shouted.

"I JUST WANTED TO ASK WHY I SUDDENLY FELL ASLEEP!" Grisseo shouted back.

"I DUNNO!" Lapis hollered.

"It's the Sands of Stupefication," a new voice interrupted. "The eighth Wonder of the world."

Lapis and Grisseo turned and saw a Krookodile.

"YIKES!" Lapis shouted as he reflexively spun around and chopped.

The Krookodile hopped to the side. "That wasn't very nice. I was just trying to help you."

"Who're you?" Lapis asked, putting a hand to his pocket.

"Who cares who he is? ATTACK!" Grisseo shouted, leaping at the croc.

Krookodile swatted him away. "Just a Krookodile, looking for a favor."

Lapis eyed him suspiciously. "What _kind_ of favor?"

"WHO CARES?! HE ATTACKED ME! ATTACK!" Grisseo shouted, jumping up from beneath the sands.

"SHUDDUP!" Lapis yelled, punching Grisseo away. "Anyhoo, now dat we've got da nuisance outta da way, what kinda favor were ya lookin' for? We might be able ta help ya out."

"Right. My request for you is to kill someone."

 **OMAKE**

Genevieve smirked and dragged her scythe in a light cut against Mithril's neck, and the girl froze. She was going to die. Wow. What a short life. She had accomplished much, of course, but her heroic empire had just gotten started. It was a pity she wouldn't live to see her efforts come to fruition. Natalie would have to take control and carry on her dream for her. But really, what a sad way to die. She had always dreamed that she would go down fighting with her army at her back and an overwhelming number of enemies at her front, not from _poison_.

Wait...

"It doesn't hurt?" she mumbled confusedly, raising an arm to test it. She could move just fine. She stood up with a grin, bonked her head on the crate above her with a frown, and shooed Genevieve out of the makeshift entrance with her sword.

Genevieve facepalmed. She'd forgotten- the poison acted on the brain!

 **(A/N: And that's the update. Almost 7000 words, excluding the author notes. I hope you enjoyed it!)**


	27. An Ending

**(A/N: I sometimes wish I had attracted a crowd of easier to please, lower intelligence beings instead of the talented molders and analyzers of words you all are (I am looking at you especially, Deathdealer) so I could use the "I've been gone for a while" card as an excuse for any and all terribleness, but then I remember that honesty and constructive criticism is how I can become as talented as you people... or at least more talented than I am currently. Anyway! As it so happens, marching band intruded on my life at a most inopportune time and I was left with a dilemma: write the one or two chapters it will take to finish the story, or catch up on sleep? ... I chose sleep. I don't function well without rest. Anyway, I hope you guys weren't really expecting a lot, because really... we're closing it up. T-T At the same time, I'm glad to write the finale. I'll finally be able to work on another problem story whose commisioner I've been receiving frustrated PMs from. As always, pikaree1 does not own Benjen/700, Kaz, Mithril, Natalie, or Leon.)**

Lapis stared at the Krookodile, almost as stupefied by the request as he had been by the sand. "Ya want us... ta kill someone?" he repeated.

Krookodile nodded with an amiable, sharp-toothed smile. "That's right!" Silence reigned for a few moments before Grisseo came running back. Lapis was quick to put him in a headlock and then continue speaking to the Krookodile.

"Whaddya mean, kill someone?!" he shouted over the unholy racket that Grisseo was making. "Ain't dis a dream world?! Why would we need ta kill someone?!"

Krookodile adopted a grave look on his face. "Ah, now that's a long story..."

"Exposition is borin'," Lapis said promptly, and even Grisseo stopped flailing and screaming long enough to shoot the pokemon a deadpan expression. "Keep it down to two sentences or less."

"Someone else's consciousness has taken over this place, locked up the consciousness of Benjen, and that isn't good for the stability of the dream world."

Lapis and Grisseo frowned with twin expressions of confusion."'Stability of the dream world'?" they echoed.

"...You don't know how it works, do you."

They shook their heads.

"Er. Okay. Well. I guess I'll need to go overboard on the exposition."

* * *

Orange was awakened early in the morning by the tickle of knives at his throat.

Despite the fact that mere seconds previous he had been sound asleep, he was jarred into full alertness, breath catching in his throat and eyes wildly flitting around his surroundings. Why was it so dark?! Why were there knives at his throat?! Had the enemy decided to attack in the middle of the night?! The knives hadn't moved in for the kill, merely remained hovering above him. Orange tried not to move, careful of brushing his Adam's apple against the pointed tip of the blade.

"Good morning," came Kaz's voice, lilting and cruelly teasing. Orange guessed that she was the one holding the knives. Hmph, some wake-up call. The weapons were withdrawn, and he blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness. Kaz seemed happier as compared to yesterday, or perhaps it was just that she could now afford to school her mannerisms back to her signature false politeness. He half-wished it was Lyra or even Captain Silver here instead; at least he was familiar with them and wouldn't have to worry about being killed. Even if his control over Hope was necessary to counter The Boss's control over Chaos, a small voice in the very back of his mind whispered for him not to cross her. Who knows what would happen if he did? A gruesome death would doubtlessly await him if they won the fight.

Still, Orange was a teenage boy, and teenage boys aren't exactly known for their wise judgement.

"Couldn't you have just woken me up like a normal person?" he grumbled mutinously, dragging himself up to a sitting position.

Kaz merely raised an eyebrow. "Well, if I tried to do that, you would take too long to get up, and we'd have to leave you behind. If we left you behind, we wouldn't have Hope with us. If we didn't have Hope with us, Chaos would keep us from defeating The Boss. But that won't happen because now you're wide awake and ready to go, _right_?" Her smile (or rather what Orange could see of it) became a bit more forceful. He gulped and nodded quickly, mentally berating himself for challenging her. He quickly picked up his travel pack, stuffed his blanket into it, and scrambled over to what he _thought_ was the door, crashing into the wall a few times before actually locating the exit. Kaz tracked him with her eyes until he was out before standing up and going outside herself.

As it turned out, it was almost as dark outside as it was inside. The twinkling stars and crescent moon cast a thin, pale glow, barely illuminating the night enough for Orange to see the rough gravel path in front of him. Mithril and Natalie were already waiting, Natalie sitting in the boat with her sunglasses on and Mithril jogging in place impatiently. When the younger took notice of him, she blew out an irate exhale and hissed, "Took you long enough! We've been waiting since _forever_!"

"Odd, considering you're only fifteen," Kaz chirped, suddenly seated beside Natalie. Mithril yelped shrilly before backing away.

"K-Kaz! A-Aren't you sounding h-happy today," she giggled nervously, fidgeting with crystal clear discomfort.

"My, was it that obvious? But why shouldn't I be?" the woman returned serenely. "After all, soon I will be able to kill the person who kidnapped my baby brother, and then I will have Benjen back." She giggled, teeth flashing white.

"Oh, Kaz, what pointy canines you have!" Mithril whimpered, mostly to herself. Orange found himself nodding in fearful agreement as he dumped in his bag and took a seat in the boat.

He turned to Natalie, their de facto leader of transport since she seemed to be the most stable out of the four of them (barring the ever-humdrum and mostly pacifistic Orange himself, but he didn't know much about transportation), and asked, "So... How's this thing supposed to be operated?"

"Zzz," was her answer. Orange blinked.

"...Natalie's asleep," he said, turning to the other occupants of the boat. "What now?"

Kaz shook her head, still wearing that far too cheerful smile. Orange kind of felt like he preferred it when she was open about her scariness instead of hiding it behind that polite mask. In fact, he sometimes wondered why she wasn't a member of the castle's team of ambassadors; she would've given the old farts in charge of other kingdoms a run for their money. "Silly child," she giggled, her laugh sounding like the tinkling of glass bells being shattered over some poor shmuck's eyes. Orange was half a mind to protest at 'child', but he was also half a mind to keep himself uninjured for as long as possible. The self-preservative half won. "It's pulled along by Floatzel. Do you see any oars or a motor on this thing? The only viable option other than being pulled would be to have you push us with magic, and I'd sooner die than let that happen because I _would_ end up dead. Now, let's be off!" She barked a command at their steeds, and the weasel pokemon were off like a shot, dragging their passengers behind them. Orange and Mithril fell over at their sudden start, and Orange got a face full of flailing hand. Mithril got a hand full of screaming face. The jerking motion of the boat also served to awaken Natalie, who screamed bloody murder until she caught sight of Kaz's sharp smile and quieted to a whimper.

Their journey passed mostly in tense silence save for the sound of the Floatzels and the boat cutting through the sea.

Natalie's face was drawn in a tight expression as she kept herself from grimacing and looked out onto the water. Visibility was good, and she could make out the distant tip of Mt. Chimney. The salty scent of the water only served to further remind her that she was not on sweet, dry land but instead the uncertain, unsteady ocean. It didn't help calm her frayed nerves in the slightest.

Mithril was playing the ballad 'Everything's Gonna Be Alright' by the bard Cob Narley in her head to soothe the Butterfrees jangling about in her gullet. She disliked being stuck on tight little spaces like their small boat as a rule; that and the fact that she was stuck with the most frightening woman she'd ever met in her life (aside from perhaps her elderly great-aunt Edna) were not making for the happiest moment in her short life, nor even a remotely pleasant one.

Orange was tranquil, his eyes shut gently as he meditated in the way his mother had always instructed him to do if he wasn't feeling well emotionally or if he was trying to figure out an important decision. However, he had already made his peace with the thought of assisting in ending the life of another; that life had ended and disrupted the lives of many others, caused chaos, destruction, and sorrow. (...And, he thought contentedly within the palace of his mind, Kaz can't scare me here. Probably.)

Kaz was, as always, single-minded; the only thing that mattered was retrieving Benjen from the clutches of The Boss. She no longer had the shackles of duty and mission holding her to what she was able to investigate, and there were no laws for her to tip toe around. Mt. Chimney was uninhabited territory, and she was going after a notorious criminal and his accomplices anyway. There was no need for her to circumvent governments from various parts of the world bringing down their idea of justice upon her; this kill was special. Her smile twitched to become something a little more sharp. As a highly proficient assassin, her missions were normally to kill off crime bosses (because the queen was adamant about keeping their kingdom's history as free of blood as it could be, and the king was of similar mind, just not blessed with the proper management skills to carry out the objective) who had gotten too big for their britches, as was the case with Baka back in chapter seven. Granted, he was actually Benjen's target, but she would have been sent after him soon anyway.

The underworld of crime tended to rely on these kinds of people; their influence branched out like tree roots under the soil. Taking out one was basically the equivalent of uprooting a tree, and there were plenty of criminals who ended up pissed and confrontational. They weren't much of a problem, but the _real_ issue lay in whether or not the target had a front in politics. That was the problem with foreign targets; they tended to be entitled and weren't subject to random checks decided by roulette and a game of pool (Captain Silver had never elaborated on the choosing method, and Kaz had never asked. As long as she got the desired missions, she didn't care), so the public ended up infuriated and thirsting for the blood of whoever had killed him.

But it was not so with The Boss. According to the information Kara had relayed to the queen who then relayed it to the ninja corps, The Boss's organization was small and flew solo, systematically taking out other criminals who got too big or too deep in their territory. It was beyond Kaz why the lunatic hadn't taken in more (competent) people, but she supposed that was why he was labeled a lunatic.

Suddenly, the Floatzels pulling the boat stopped, their wet fur bristling out and air sacs inflating even teeth showed as the hissed agitatedly. Kaz's eyes sharpened as she reached for her kunai, and Mithril and Natalie prepared for combat as well.

 _"No need for such hostile reactions!"_ a familiarly condescending and jovial voice rang out cheerfully. _"I haven't sent out another agent to kill you, don't worry! I was just bored sitting in a pit of magma."_

The party members froze, eyes darting to each other in silent question. Adviser Green hadn't said anything about sitting in a pit of magma, so why...?

 _"You see, it seems that Yveltal doesn't like the idea of someone trying to control it more than twice. I have to sit in a pit of magma until two hours before the ritual can start! On a magic circle! With the gems around me! Without my cloak! Can you believe it?! My cloak!"_ Ugh. There were certainly times when they all wondered why this guy was their (at current) most feared enemy. _"And I don't even have the leeway to go fetch Genevieve or even send 700 or Leon to get her! I can barely send out a telepathic projection! Ah well, you only have three proper combat units anyway. It'll be a one on one! So hurry up, alright? Get here soon!"_

"Wait, why do you even want us there?" Orange piped up in confusion. "Wouldn't it be easier for you if we never showed up?"

 _"Yes, but it would be so terribly boring,"_ The Boss sighed. _"Besides, the next sacrifice calls for the blood of a hero. Procuring one is a little more troublesome than capturing a child, but it still isn't much of a challenge. But it would be so inconvenient to have to go out and get one, and you're already coming to me! Don't be too late, though, or we'll have start the party without you."_ There was a staticky buzz, and then a pop as the link was cut off.

* * *

The world of dreams, as Krookodile tried to explain to Lapis and Grisseo, had been invented by Darkrai to keep human souls from drifting away from their bodies when they fell into the deepest parts of slumber. In the days before, malevolent ghosts and spirits and other manner of beings even more supernatural than pokemon roamed the land, trying to find a tasty soul to devour. Possession wasn't all that uncommon in those days; a mother might go to bed with her baby tucked safely in its crib and five years later be raising up an old, old soul; a marriage could be torn apart be it by a sudden argument or the death of one spouse; a well-loved and respected teacher could one day kill their students. However, only the most powerful of spirits could take over the body of a human in full possession of itself, and they were few and far between. The more common ones preyed on the psyches that were deeply asleep, having a very weak anchor and just about ready to drift off away and become a wandering spirit in itself.

To remedy the situation, Darkrai gave humans a world within their mind to hold tight to their spirits. It began with showing them images of their worries and their hopes, reminders that they had lives to return to after they had rested, but as Darkrai grew increasingly bored and creative, the dreams became capable of growing more outlandish, some terrifying, some entertaining.

"The problem," Krookodile sighed in frustration, "is that this realm is meant to be a temporary existence, something without much substance that will dissipate and then renew itself as needed. If it lasts to long, the entities within it can grow their own consciousnesses. Case in point..." He gestured to himself. "When this happens, the dream world expands, sometimes even creating its own dimension and breaking off from the real one. Things spin completely out of the dreamer's control. The perp isn't very interested in what's going on in here, and Benny's a good kid, so this place is pretty peaceful, and we're still technically classified as a dream, but... Well, I'm not too sure how long this will last. The Sands of Stupefication? Benny invented them. It used to be way closer to him, but as the dream world grew, it got farther and farther away, stretched around the very edges... And now it's stopped moving, and stuff's growing around it, weird plants Benny never even thought of. That's proof that the connection's starting to fall apart. I don't know who did this, but they don't have a very deep understanding of what will happen. They let a little bit of his will free, one of the most basic and untouched parts, so we can assume that his body's still moving, but if things go on for too long... He'll fall into an unstable state of schizophrenia, or die."

Lapis scratched his head. "Couldn't brainwashin' deal wit' da shizzafreeza?"

"Schizophrenia," Krookodile corrected, a bit stupefied himself at how someone could know what it was and not how to say it. It wasn't even that difficult to sound out from writing. "And I guess it could, but... Benjen's own psyche would force itself to cut ties with the physical body. The remnants of his will still inhabiting it may have grown to be fuller in its own right over the years, but to be torn away from a major part of his essence... It would disintegrate, sooner rather than later, and he would die."

"What if he used a spell to keep the psyche stable?" Grisseo piped up.

"The human spirit isn't something that completely follows the rules of magic. Splitting it? Magic can handle that. But stabilizing one that's been totaled? Not even a legendary pokemon's power can do that."

"Wait," Lapis said suddenly, "how d'ya know dat he'll be okay when he's dropped back inta da real world?"

"Oh, there's a control center in the Sands of Stupeficatin that shows what's going on outside. There's a trustworthy-ish guy with him who'll get him somewhere safe if need be. Now come on, there's not much farther to go before we reach him."

* * *

"Come on, there's not much farther to go before we reach the top!" Orange declared with false cheer. This did nothing to appease Natalie and Mithril who glared at him poisonously. Kaz was the only one in their group to show no signs of flagging, fresh as she'd been when they began their ascent. It was... kind of unnerving, really, but none of them mentioned it, especially since she was likely to deliver a sarcastic comment about it being "just a little trek" or something like that.

"There's not even that," Natalie said blandly instead, catching sight of a cable. "I think I just found the cable car."

"Wait, seriously?!"

"WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR, LET'S GO! ALSO, CURSED RAINBOW BABIES!"

The youngest two members of their group were off like shots, charging with the reckless abandon and stupidity of teenager-hood in the direction of the car. Natalie followed at a light jog rather than a sprint, and Kaz just smiled before taking to the trees. Predictably, she reached the spot before them, not a hair out of place and her kimono free of tears despite her branch-hopping. There were times when having a ninja as an ally was a wonderful, wonderful, merciful thing, but there were other times when it only served as a reminder that one was a loser in comparison. This was definitely one of those times.

Whoever was supposed to be in charge of the car was absent. That was a bit of an inconvenience, considering the fact that none of them could operate it.

"This stuff requires magic," Natalie said uncertainly. "Usually someone with air magic propels it forward on the cable, but only one of us can use it now..." She glanced at Orange, a hopeful look on her face. "Any help from the magic ear-murderer?"

"Hey!" Orange protested with a huff. "Jo is _not_ an ear murderer!"

"Yes he is!" Mithril yelled indignantly. "I almost went deaf the last time you played it!"

"Him! And I saved your life!"

"At the cost of my poor virgin ears!"

"Answer the gosh darn question!" Natalie complained, intervening in the face of the not-so-subtle signs of a full-on argument.

"Ah... No. We can still trek up the mountain on foot, so I guess Xerneas doesn't think it's necessary."

"Useless," Mithril muttered mutinously.

"I SAVED YOUR LIFE!"

"If it isn't working, we'll make it work," Kaz interrupted calmly before turning her sweetest smile on Orange. "You'll be pulling the cable to make us move forward." It was not a request, it was a demand, and Orange gulped fearfully and nodded, eyes not leaving that terrifyingly dulcet smile.

Soon enough, they were ascending the mountain once more, though at a Shuckle's pace. Kaz had many a scathing comment about the difficulty Orange was having. He privately thought that her expectations were inhuman; even if the car was attached to the cable with a wheel, they were moving uphill, and were quite heavy besides. Mithril asked Natalie if Greg the Ponyta could propel them with soft Sky Flames, but when the older girl shot her a confused, questioning look, she gave up and instead called out her Lucario, who proved much more capable than Orange. Progress increased from the Shuckle's pace to a Lucario's, meaning that Orange would turn into a Shuckle if he was hit with a pokemon-ifying spell.

He protested quite loudly to that observation.

* * *

"Krookodile!"

Lapis could in no way connect the adorable, happy-looking child to an agent of The Boss, but he _could_ connect him to Kaz. Their facial structures and eyes were incredibly similar, though Benjen's face was more cherubic and fuller with not-yet-lost baby fat.

"Howdy-doo, Benny," Krookodile said with a smile that was surprisingly friendly despite being full of sharp teeth. "Guess where I went today?"

"Where?" Benjen asked excitedly, gripping the bars of his cage.

Oh yeah. The cage.

While Krookodile and Benjen chatted about Krookodile's expedition into the Sands of Stupefication and beyond, Lapis frowned in thought. This kid... If he had spent the majority of his life in a cage, what would that mean for his mental and psychological health if he got out back into the real world? Actually, no, the question he should have been pondering much earlier was how a kid who had been _living in a fantasy land inside his mind where pretty much everything could adjust to his will_ would be when returned to the real world. He hadn't seemed to have matured much, if his external state was anything to go by, and although Lapis suspected Kaz would not mind this terribly—no, she'd probably be overjoyed that she'd get to spend all the lost years with him—it might end up being a problem later on.

...Especially with the two conflicting psyches. If one part stayed a little kid and the other had grown into a ruthless killer, what the heck was going to happen? Were the two parts of his spirit going to duke it out? Were they going to combine into some bizarre amalgam that ended up like that creepy but cute yandere in that one manga? That was a terrifying thought, especially since Benjen was a guy. Guys weren't supposed to be cutely innocent in Lapis's opinion, but then, that was part of the reason why it would be creepy and bizarre, the other reason being that he would be doing the whole 'cute innocent smile' act while holding a bloody axe...Steer those thoughts away from there, homeboy. Think happy thoughts. Heroism and no kicked Lillipups.

"...And then I met these two!" Krookodile exclaimed, gesturing to Lapis and Grisseo suddenly. "Their names are Lapis and Grisseo!"

"Yo," Lapis said awkwardly, waving. He was awful with kids.

"It's an ankle-biter!" Grisseo shrieked, whipping a Darkrai charm out from who-knows-where and waving it in front of him.

Benjen's reaction was not as they expected. He squeaked, hiding behind Krookodile as best he could.

"...Benny doesn't really meet a lot of people, and he's never met another human before, so he's a bit shy," Krookodile explained awkwardly. "But I suppose we've had enough chitchat. Benjen, do you know where that weird blobby thing is? The one that keeps trying to make you drink tea?"

Benjen shook his head, trembling. "No... But it's going to show up soon. It said it would."

"And indeed I am!" A purple blob appeared from out of nowhere, a tea cup in one blobby tendril and a kettle in another. "So! Will you drink any tea today? This place gets terribly boring."

Krookodile pointed at it. "Okay, you two, do your thing! Get it!"

"Gee, yer purty confident dat we'll just do whatcha say," Lapis grumbled even as he grabbed the blob and plucked it up. It struggled in his grip but got nowhere. "Dis thing ain't even dat strong..."

Krookodile shrugged. "Well, it's an incomplete psyche that forced itself into a completely different mind. All it can do is create small illusions, like changing its appearance and illusionary teasets. The only reasons Benny's in a cage is because the complete psyche created a bunch before fragmenting and leaving. You, on the other hand, are a complete psyche that was given dreamwalking gear. I'm sure you can tell the difference."

Lapis considered this, then nodded, accepting the explanation. "Okay." He turned back to the blob. "Now, I've got some questions for ya-"

"Where is Lord Darkrai?!" Grisseo demanded furiously, snatching the blob from his hands and shaking it.

"Locked up in one of the spare cages," it choked out quickly. The thing was surprisingly wimpy despite technically being a part of The Boss. "It'll only last until Benjen dies and the external part of his psyche takes over."

Krookodile looked at him incredulously. "...You have no idea how this works, do you?"

"...Huh?"

Krookodile looked like he was about to smack himself, then like he was about to smack the blob, but he ultimately decided that using Smack Down on Lapis and Grisseo earlier in chapter 25 had already filled his smacking quota for the month. Instead, he reiterated what he told Lapis and Grisseo earlier.

"...Oh," said the blob, looking deflated. "Well, no matter. My main psyche is gonna kill the trigger soon anyway, so it doesn't even matter if Benjen doesn't die as long as he stays locked up."

Lapis snatched the blob back from Grisseo and shook it twice. "Great, now answer _mah_ question! How d'we defeat Kyuukushu?!"

The blob snorted. "Kyuukushu? She's been stuck in that sealed cavern for so long that the world's very aura has changed outside. There're way less evil spirits roaming about the world, so it'll basically be so clean it hurts. Sure, she'll make a huge fuss and destroy a forest, so she'll at least be marginally more comfortable in her death throes, but even then, the only reason she's still so powerful is the concentrated strength she has around her to manipulate. It'll diffuse through the air and she'll only be a little more powerful than your average Ninetales, not to mention the fact that she's too old now. Even she will succumb to old age. Besides, she isn't really as strong as she claims to be. Defeating legendaries? They were practically babies back then; they live for eternity, and they had the time to grow into their power."

Lapis cut off the blob, who was seriously running its mouth. Also, the whole thing seemed way too anti-climactic, like that demon in one of the first story arcs of Gremlin Ears. "Okay, so how could she use Origin Pulse and Precipice Blades?"

"Illusions, obviously," the blob said flippantly. "Can you let me go now? This kind of hurts."

"Kill it!" Krookodile clamored. "That will set both Benny and your Darkrai friend free!"

"Ya know what," said Lapis, "I think I'll do dat."

"Let me go?" the blob asked hopefully.

"What? No. Dat's stupid. Kill you."

* * *

With a rather abrupt jolt, the party had reached the end of the cable. Kaz hopped out nimbly, followed by everyone else.

They were met, of course, with the utmost politeness. "Welcome!" The Boss said cheerfully with a little bow and a flourish. "You arrived at the perfect time! I just got out of my magma bath!"

Natalie squinted. "Wasn't this guy supposed to be stuck in there for another day?" she whispered apprehensively to Kaz. Kaz didn't get to answer, however, because The Boss had heard her question and was more than willing to answer it.

"Well you see, my former minion, that year was a leap year!"

...

Orange facevaulted.

Mithril facepalmed.

Natalie made a face.

And Kaz aimed her knives at The Boss's face!

And The Boss protected himself from the knife thrown at his face using the shielding magic from before

Kaz sighed. "Oh my," she said disappointedly. "Looks like we'll be needing you after all, Orange."

The Boss's eyes lit up. "So you _didn't_ decide on a one-on-one battle! Oh, goody! This means that I get to show off my minions, too! Leon, 700, come out!"

The duo did so in short order, stalking out of the bushes quietly. Leon didn't have any shoes on, something Kaz noted with slight curiousity. Wasn't that ever so slightly stupid in a terrain filled with sharp twigs and rocks? Well, no matter. It wasn't as if he was her opponent.

"Mithril, you're fighting him," she ordered. "I don't care whether or not you kill him, just keep him out of my way. Natalie, I want you to stall my brother. And remember, if you hurt him, your life is forfeit. Orange, do your thing."

"Why do you always get all the action?" Mithril complained as Natalie threw herself bodily between Kaz and 700 with a terrified screech and Orange began plucking Jo's strings in a very butchered rendition of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

Kaz didn't deign to respond. Instead, she hurled herself at The Boss with vindictive fury. He smirked and teleported away.

Or rather, he _tried_.

It seemed Xerneas came through after all. Orange grinned excitedly, an exhilerated look on his face as he plucked Jo's strings with more vigor. Chu matched him, slamming the Elexecutor onto his triangle rapid-fire in a _'TING! TING! TING!'_ sound that was pretty, but also rather pointless.

The Boss quickly came to the conclusion that he could no longer use his magic and dodged, so fast that Orange, the only one of the group who had the luxury of watching the different fights occuring, could not see him. "Silly girl! Did you forget that I was once the captain of the guard?" A thin line of blood suddenly appeared on his cheek.

"Silly man," Kaz said with a serene smile. "Did you forget that I am a ninja?"

"No," The Boss hummed, using a basic summoning spell to get a sword—it seemed that his original magic capabilities could manage at least that. "But this is certainly a problem. I hadn't realized that the group grew so strong while I was away." He lunged at her, again faster than Orange's eyes could track, and swung the sword. Kaz dodged, bending backwards as if under a limbo stick.

"Perhaps you're just out of practice," she suggested. The Boss tried to kick her feet out from under her and take advantage of her already unbalanced state, but she seemed to have been expecting that and wrapped her legs tightly around the offending limb, quickly following up by forcing her torso upward to take full advantage of the fact that she had him trapped to stab him with her katana. "It's been decades since the last time you were in a physical battle, hasn't it?"

"Forty eight years," he said nostalgically, blocking her sword with his own and grabbing the wrist attached to her free hand which was holding a knife, and then he flipped her, making use of the fact that his physical strength was greater than hers. "It took me a while to get the hang of the magic; Yveltal's power was always fighting me. And I'll have you know that I've been working out and I'm still plenty spritely for my age!"

She landed easily and bared her teeth in a wide grin. "Perfect. The one who had the audacity to steal away my baby brother could never have been anything less."

"Indeed." The Boss smiled back pleasantly. "And the sister of my number one assassin could never be anything less than you are, either!"

They circled each other for a little while with the air of seasoned fighters, looking for their opponent's openings and at the same time making their own minimal; it was something Orange knew he could never hope to replicate. Kaz seemed to see something, because she leaped at The Boss suddenly—but he had been faking it, and she was subject to some kind of bomb in midair—but then she was behind her target, whispering that no true ninja would get caught by a slow attack like that—and then he smiled, agreeably, commented on how nice the weather was before reaching to twist her head to give her a better look at the sky—but she ducked around his hand, already used to the tricks used by her larger opponents when her missions came down to proper fights—and he made a noise of disappointment before shoving her forcefully away—and she tsked, a kunai in one hand—

So distracted was Orange by the fight as he plucked away at the strings of Jo, instinctually channeling the magic, that he paid no heed to the other fights. This proved to be a terrible mistake—Leon crashed into him, nearly crushing him under his weight as Mithril screamed that his path definitely wasn't the one Aria would have wanted for him, and also, precognitive black lilies. The straw hat atop Orange's head floated away, by chance landing lightly atop Kaz's head instead as she and The Boss sized each other up once again.

Orange, being crushed, was no longer able to play Jo and channel the magic to stop The Boss's magic.

And that was, you know, bad.

The Boss chuckled in the evil, dramatically low way some villains are born with as he felt the power returning. "This fight has been fun, little girl, but I'd really like to start making preparations now. Also, 700 is in a bit of a pickle right now," and indeed, Natalie had managed to use his blind rage that destroyed his reason to catch him in a trap that Tiki had set up with a few (thankfully not electric) webs, "so I think it's time to get you out of the way and let him return to working order. Goodbye!" Then he tossed a ball of destructive magic at her.

The chance that caused Kaz to be the new wearer of Orange's mother's hat turned out to be a lucky chance, apparently, because the ornaments attached to them sent out a pulsing rythm of energy before ripping away to reveal the Rainbow and Silver Wings.

 _What._

The energy pulsing through them pushed back The Boss's magic; in fact, it caused it to backfire and blow up right in his face.

 _What._ Did the Rainbow Wing and Silver Wing even _have_ protectional properties?!

 _'Well,'_ Orange thought resignedly as Mithril and her Lucario hauled Leon off of him and he picked up Jo to begin playing again, _'at least now I know why Mom wanted me to take the hat she wore on her adventures.'_

Kaz sighed through her nose. She'd wanted to be the one to deal this much damage to The Boss on her own! But she was a ninja, and ninja were supposed to be pragmatists when it came to their missions, so she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Actually, maybe she would give the hat to Benjen after this whole fight was over; it would be good for him while she went in search of Ho-oh and Lugia to get more of their feathers.

She went in to continue the beatdown.

"Why isn't this working," she snarled half an hour later, stabbing The Boss's mutilated, bloody, no-longer-functioning-properly body for the umpteenth time.

"I don't know!" Orange wailed. "I'm trying, I dispelled his magic, but I don't know what's going on!"

He really didn't, though at the moment, he was very close to making up some fantastical theory, because Kaz looked very much like she was planning to stab him next.

* * *

"This! Thing! Ain't! Dyin'!" Lapis exploded as he squished the blob for the umpteenth time.

"That's strange," Krookodile said pensively. "These things are really easy to kill. It's incredibly weak. The only way it wouldn't is if the dreamer is willing it not to..." He glanced at Benjen. "Benny, are you...?"

Benjen looked away guiltily, which might as well be a universal sign of admittance.

"Benny, you have to let him die," Krookodile wheedled. "It's the only way you'll be able to wake up."

"But- But I don't want to wake up!" he burst out. "If I do, you'll disappear! I'll never see you again!"

"Of course you will, if you will me to-"

"No you won't!" Benjen's lower lip trembled dangerously. Lapis, as an older brother of two (though one of the two was his stoic, stony-faced twin brother), paled considerably. "I've lived in the dream world long enough to know how it works! I can call back an image of you, but _you_ , the _true_ you, will disappear! Forever! And I'll never get you back!"

"Kid," Krookodile said, a soft look in his eyes. "Benny- no, Benjen. Benjen. Your sister is waiting for you outside, you know?"

Benjen froze, though he still looked like he was about to cry. "My... sister?"

"Yeah!" Lapis added. "She's been lookin' all over for ya, but da part o' yer psyche dat's out right now doesn't recognize her! She's goin' nuts!" Literally, he didn't add.

"Kaz..." Benjen murmured sadly before shaking his head. "But that would be like choosing one life over another! I can't do that!"

"Benjen, she's your sister," Krookodile said sharply. "And she misses you, and she's done so much, and all she wants is her baby brother back. Do you remember when you first came here? You told me about how your father didn't recognize you. Well, your sister _does_ , and she's not dead, she's alive, and _she wants you back_. _Go_ to her, Benjen." His voice became soft again. "Go to her, Benny. She misses you."

"But-" Benjen started.

"NOW LOOK HERE!" Lapis exploded. Everyone looked. "Thanks. Now. Lookie here, Benjen, I might not know ya at all, but I know yer sis a bit, and I know how it is ta be an older sibling. Ya worry about yer siblings, especially when dey're real little. She still thinks of ya as dat li'l kid who was kidnapped, someone to be protected. But!" He put up his index finger. "I _also_ know how it is ta be an older sibling of an independent guy. When dey stop cryin' an' start standin' up fer demselves, dere's no prouder moment, or dere wasn't fer me as a big brother. Ya need ta become a man at some point, Benjen, so why not now? Go back ta her. Show her ya've grown up a bit. Just..." He sighed frustratedly. "I'll jus' say what Krookodile said. She misses ya. So go back." Before she potentially destroys the world, he also didn't add.

"But..." Benjen murmured, much more weakly this time.

"Benjen, do this," Krookodile said firmly, grasping his creator's small hands in his claws around the bars of the cage. "You have to." There was a pleading note in his voice and the glimmer of a tear in one of his eyes, and that seemed to decide it for Benjen.

Those small hands became suddenly large, and Benjen became a little too big for the small cage. He closed his eyes. "Go on," he said to Lapis.

"Don' need ta tell me twice." Lapis squeezed his hand, and the blob exploded in a rather disgusting shade of purple.

"Goodbye," Krookodile whispered quietly.

* * *

"Finally!" Kaz shrieked, having reached the end of her (quite considerable, actually) patience at the exact same moment she stabbed The Boss and he actually died. And at the exact same moment as _that_ , 700 stopped struggling and fell limp. Natalie gasped in relief, and Mithril burst into an off-key rendition of 'Hallelujah'. Orange attempted to accompany her on Jo, but the instrument suddenly disintegrated in his hands with its purpose fulfilled, and he dissolved into blubbering tears. Chu patted him on the back sympathetically, mentally noting that it seemed a bit too much like comic relief. Someone shouted "YES, IT'S FINALLY OVER!" though no one could be entirely sure who it was. That area would later be rumored to be haunted by the ghost of an adolescent who held a grudge over a far too early bedtime that interfered with things much more important than getting enough sleep before lessons the next day.

Kaz stabbed The Boss's mangled remains in the areas she was relatively sure his used-to-be-vitals were just to be safe before dropping the bloody knife and racing to her brother. "Benjen!" she burst out, ripping the web off of him and cradling him, which was surprisingly tame after all the honestly terrifying and stalker-ish things she had done. She slapped his cheeks gently a few times to wake him up. Luckily, he stirred.

"Krookodile... Kaz...?" he mumbled.

"Benjen!" She hugged him tightly.

She soon found herself on the ground a few feet away.

"I... I'm sorry," Benjen said, stricken. "It was reflex..."

Granted, this was to be expected. He had, after all, spent quite a few years avoiding her with a passion.

Kaz got up, one hand pressed to her side. She smiled; the curve of her lips was a bit pained, but still happy. "It's okay," she said softly, approaching him slowly and embracing him again, giving him ample time to familiarize himself with the feeling of the gesture. "We can work on that. We're family, after all."

And then Mithril, being Mithril, ruined the moment by wailing, "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! It's so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

Kaz returned to normal long enough to throw a kunai at her head. Mithril squeaked and was just barely protected by her Lucario.

Natalie frowned, more than a little confused. "I'm surprised she hasn't spirited him away to some far-off place yet," she commented.

Orange nodded, then tilted his head to the side. "Yeah. But maybe... maybe she isn't as insane as we thought," he mused. "Maybe there was a method to her madness. I don't know what happened, but he isn't acting totally like the 700 we know. Whatever it is, I think she knows he needs a little space, so she's toned it down a bit. And... I talked to Eleanor the day before we left the castle. Maybe the reason she was so forceful in reclaiming him was because she somehow knew that something was blocking his memory of her, and she was trying to jar him into remembering. Or... that's what it looks like. Kinda," he finished lamely. Natalie shook her head.

"Speaking of underwhelming things..." Natalie glanced at Leon. "What was up with you? There's no way you could've lost to Mithril."

"She said some persuasive things," he responded with a wry smile. "She told me that you two found out about Aria... and Kara told you about how I joined The Organization to get stronger. She... basically lectured me about my life decisions and said that I should've considered what Aria would want and seeked a different kind of power."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "All that and she managed to avoid dying?" she said skeptically.

"Well, I _was_ pulling my punches," he returned.

Orange took in the scene—Kaz speaking gently to Benjen and laying out plans for their return to their old village, Mithril and Natalie latching on to Leon in a group huge, The Sickening Mess Of Evil Flesh And Innards—and grinned at Chu. "It's over, buddy," he said fondly. "And now I have a new ballad to sing."

The next few weeks were a blur. Grisseo and Lapis—who had been ejected from Benjen's dream world along with Darkrai the second he had woken up—were returned from petrification with no more evil baddie obstructing the way. Grisseo had promptly left in foolish hopes of finding Darkrai, and Lapis had tried to return to his duties but had been sent home to recuperate with equal promptness. Silver had decided to dismiss Kaz from the ninja corps. so that she could settle back down in a more civilian lifestyle with Benjen (but really, civilians were a myth in the kingdom—the formidable housewives living in it were proof of that), though there were rumors that every so often, he sent a mission file for a covert assassination their way. Benjen's personality seemed to have dominated the persona of "700," but he'd had terrible nightmares which he learned were his experiences as 700 for months and came out of the experience with the acceptance of having killed people. Leon had joined the guard after much encouragement from Mithril, Natalie, and Orange, and Natalie and Mithril set off on their own journey to kickstart Mithril's heroic empire. Kara returned to being another one of Crystal's researchers, though their placid attitudes were a bit of a culture shock after the chaos of her previous co-workers. Genevieve was kept in custody of the ninja corps. Lyra, Will, Eleanor, and Nicholas continued their job as ninja, the latter two often dropping by the Kaahn siblings to pay Kaz visits and chat with Benjen. Orange decided to train as an on-the-field medic for the guard under his mother, and although Red was disappointed at his son not following in his footsteps, he was content to train Leon as his protege. The royal family continued to operate as it always had, and Blue had embarrassed the mermaid queen (who was flopping around on land trying to reach a puddle at the time) into surrendering and also handing over a hefty amount of deep sea treasures as reparations. A legion of the kingdom's best exorcists, priests, and other manner of spiritualists had been gathered to purify Kyuukushu from the safety of outside the barrier; The Blob had apparently been telling the truth.

And Hope?

Hope wasn't in human hands anymore, obviously. Jo exploded in the last passage.

But there was no need for it, because at least for now, the world was at relative peace once more.

 **(A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's the end of it! I feel like some parts were rushed, and others were lame and not emotional enough, and Krookodile and Benjen should've been introduced so much earlier in the story because then there'd be more emotional investment, and the Leon and Mithril issue really should have been addressed, and I'm sure there are tons of loose ends and plot holes I've forgotten about, but I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out, all things considered. And the last line. ... I should probably write an epilogue with the ballad, but I tried to write a poem for English once and failed miserably. I should also probably write an epilogue, period, but eh. *flops over* I'm done. Thank you all for reading and your cooperation—Falneou17, you encouraging words and messages are a boon. DeathDealer Inc., your insightful critiques have really assisted me in my growth as a writer however small. DaPokemonMadster, your reviews were muchly appreciated. Kiko Mizushima, your amusing reactions served as fodder to remind me of humor when I had difficulty writing. PokechuThePikachu, your characters added a special flavor to the story for me as one of the writers. Farla, I send my thoughts to you. I wonder if you're sneezing right now. Transform Queen Genevieve, I apologize for your characters not getting more spotlight. But I really liked Kara! Calem Phoenix, I will tell you the same; perhaps in another life or in a rewrite (*snorts* like that's happening with my laziness), Will will be able to get a more established role. Utmost thanks also go to DZ13, Eeveefan1290, Miki'sLittleSoul, SuperCherryGurl, and sileaf for the follows and faves.**

 **(Thank you all for investing time into this story. Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a pleasure to have shared this adventure with you all.**

 **(I'll respond to PMs soon... Probably...**

 **(And now I'm going to run off and cry in a corner because Human Emotional Stuffs. *runs off and cries in a corner*)**

 **(Lyra: HEY! Did you all think I disappeared?! ...Honestly, I did, too, but it seems I'm doing the ending credits. Conception by Copper of pikaree1. Written by Petal of pikaree1 and Copper of pikaree1. Leon Notus, Eleanor Blaze, and all affiliated pokemon submitted by Falneou17. Kazakazukazakazakakakazakuzaku Kaahn, Benjen Kaahn, Miss Doctor Professor Adeline Nurse, DC., DDS., DMD., DPT., ThD., PSYCH., ScD., SScD., MD., and all affiliated pokemon submitted by DeathDealer Inc. Natalie Simmons, Nicholas Hemmer, and all affiliated pokemon submitted by DaPokemonMadster. Mithril and all affiliated pokemon submitted by Kiko Mizushima. Yoduh, Pinkari,Wobbo, and all affiliated pokemon submitted by PokechuThePikachu. Genevieve, Professor Evelyn Kara Rosanna, and all affiliated pokemon submitted by The Transform Queen Genevieve. Will submitted by Calem Phoenix. Other cast members created by Petal of pikaree1 and Copper of pikaree1. Plot direction aided by DeathDealer Inc. Encouraging, optimistic messages sent by Falneou17, DaPokemonMadster, and Kiko Mizushima. Healthy, much-needed doses of not-always-dreary-reality given by DeathDealer Inc. Boredom expressed by Farla.**

 **(Hope I didn't miss anything. And the MVP award goes to** — **drum roll please—Jo. ...Wait, what.)**


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